Industrial Fatigue and Low Back Pain of the Nurses in General Hospital

종합병원 간호사들의 피로자각증상과 요통

To investigate industrial fatigue and low back pain, the questionaire survey for subjective symptoms of fatigue and low back pain was carried out 305 nurses in general hospital in Korea. Nurses participated to this study were divided into low back pain group(LBP) and control group, according to the self-reports by written questionaires. The subjective sysptoms of fatigue comprised three groups of 10 items each, representing dullness and sleepiness(level of cerebral activation), difficulty in concentration(level of motivation) and bodily projection of fatigue. The resultant data were processed for $x^2$-test, t-test to confirm the associations. The results were as follows: 1. 28 items of fatigue subjective symptoms exept two item, 'feel thirsty and 'feel ill', were directly associated with low back pain. 2. The percentage of fatigue complaint were significantly higher in LBP group than control. 3. Of the 30 items of fatigue subjective symptoms, the highest percentage was accounted for 'legs feel heavy', 'eye strain', 'feel stiffness in the neck or the shoulders' followed by 'feel like lying', 'whole body feels tired', 'feel a pain in the low back', 'feel drowsy' and in the order of sequence. 4. The average weighted score for the first group of fatigue items(dullness and sleepiness) was the largest among three groups and was followed by the second group(difficulty in concentration) and the third group (bodily projection of fatigue) in the order of sequence, suggesting the heavier mental and shift work stress of the female workers.