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Musculoskeletal problems and associated risk factors among health science students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Background

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability. High prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among medical and other health science students has been reported globally. However, little is known about the magnitude of the problem in Ethiopia among medical and health science students. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and identify the associated risk factors of MSDs among medical and health science students in Ethiopia.

Methods

Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2018. A stratified random sampling technique was applied to select 422 study participants, and the data was collected by a standardized Nordic questionnaire for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 20.

Results

The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in any part of the body region among medicine and nursing students was 69.4% (95% CI, 64.9, 73.9). Lower back pain was the most commonly reported body site and its prevalence increased as the year of study increases, ranging from 38% among 2nd year to 74.4% among 5th-year students. As the year of study/academic year increased, the odds of developing musculoskeletal disorders were higher. Furthermore, this study showed that a poorly designed sitting chair was a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain.

Conclusion

Ergonomic interventions focusing on modification of workstations, and promoting and delivering ongoing ergonomic education are very important to reduce the problem.

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Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. The data that support the findings of this study are also available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AOR:

Adjusted odds ratio

BMI:

Body mass Index

CI:

Confidence Interval

COR:

Crude odds ratio

LBP:

Low back pain

MSDs:

Musculoskeletal disorders

SPSS:

Statistical Package for Social Science

UK:

United Kingdom

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Postal address: 196, Gondar, Ethiopia

    Sintayehu Daba Wami, Tesfaye Hambisa Mekonnen, Getasew Yirdaw & Giziew Abere

Authors
  1. Sintayehu Daba Wami
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  2. Tesfaye Hambisa Mekonnen
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  3. Getasew Yirdaw
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  4. Giziew Abere
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Contributions

SDW: contributed to the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretations of the results, and manuscript write-up. TH: to the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretations of the results, and manuscript write-up. GY: to the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretations of the results, and manuscript write-up. GA: contributed to data analysis, interpretations of the results, and manuscript write-up and review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sintayehu Daba Wami.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar. Those medicine and nursing students in University of Gondar who were selected to participate were informed about the purpose of the study, the importance of their participation, and their ability to withdraw at any time. Written consent was obtained prior to data collection.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Wami, S.D., Mekonnen, T.H., Yirdaw, G. et al. Musculoskeletal problems and associated risk factors among health science students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. J Public Health (Berl.) 29, 943–949 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01201-6

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