Relationship between Mental Workload and Musculoskeletal ‎Disorders in Nurses Working at Day and Night Shifts in the State ‎Hospitals

Aims: Most of the occupational tasks, in addition to physical work, have a part in mental and cognitive processing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental workload and musculoskeletal disorders in nurses working at day and night shifts in the state hospitals. Instruments and Methods: The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted among 152 nurses, working at day and night shifts in state hospitals in Neishabur in 2017. These samples were selected by simple random sampling method. The Nordic Demographic Questionnaire and the NASA-TLX Standard Questionnaire were used to measure the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and mental load. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software, using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient, Chi-square, and independent t-test. Findings: There was an increase in the mean score of mental labor and musculoskeletal discomfort, especially in the waist and knee area. A significant relationship was found between the variables of labor with musculoskeletal discomfort (p<0.05). Likewise, there was a significant relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and workload (p=0.002). Conclusion: Mental workload and musculoskeletal disorders in neck, elbow, upper back, waist, and knee in shift work is higher than day care workers. Also, there is a relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and workload.

Relationship between Mental Workload and Musculoskeletal ‎Disorders in Nurses Working at Day and Night Shifts in the State ‎Hospitals Keywords:

Nurses , Mental Workload , Musculoskeletal Disorders