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Do organisational and ward-level factors explain the variance in multi-site musculoskeletal pain in eldercare workers? A multi-level cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Purpose

Multi-site musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is highly prevalent among eldercare workers, leading to increased incidence of sickness absence and early retirement. Most research on MSP in eldercare workers has focused on individual-level factors reported by the employees, with limited focus at the organisation and ward level. To address this gap, the aim of this study was to investigate whether organisation and ward-level factors explain the variance in MSP among Danish eldercare workers.

Methods

A multi-level cross-sectional study was conducted among 20 Danish nursing homes, containing 126 wards, and 418 workers who participated in measurements of organisational factors, working environment factors, and MSP (classified as reporting pain in 2 or more body regions). Data were collected at the level of the organisation, ward, and individual. The proportion of variance in MSP explained by each level was estimated using variance components analysis. The association between factors at each level of the organisation and MSP was investigated using generalised linear mixed-effects regression.

Results

Sixty seven percent of participants reported having MSP. The organisational and ward-level factors explained 0% of the variance in MSP, while the individual-level factors explained 100% of the variance in MSP. Moreover, no factors at the organisational and ward levels showed statistically significant associations with MSP. Individual-level perceived physical exertion and quantitative demands had a statistically significant association with a higher prevalence of MSP.

Conclusions

The organisation and ward levels did not contribute to explaining any of the variance in MSP. All variance in MSP was explained at the individual level.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the significant work undertaken to collect the DOSES data and the 20 nursing homes that participated in the data collection.

Funding

The study was funded by a grant from the Danish Work Environment Research Fund (journal number 03-2017-09).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

    Jodi Oakman

  2. National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Matthew Stevens, Kristina Karstad, Reiner Rugulies & Andreas Holtermann

  3. Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden

    David M. Hallman

  4. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Reiner Rugulies

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Reiner Rugulies

  6. Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Andreas Holtermann

Authors
  1. Jodi Oakman
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  2. Matthew Stevens
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  3. Kristina Karstad
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  4. David M. Hallman
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  5. Reiner Rugulies
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  6. Andreas Holtermann
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Contributions

AH and RR conceived the general research idea of DOSES and wrote the initial proposal. JO MS, KK, DH, RR and AH, contributed to the manuscript through discussion and meetings. All authors reviewed and contributed to the manuscript development. MS undertook the statistical analysis. All authors are accountable for the published work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jodi Oakman.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

DOSES received ethics approval from the Danish Data Protection Agency and the Ethics Committee for the regional capital of Denmark (H-4-2013-028).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study.

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Oakman, J., Stevens, M., Karstad, K. et al. Do organisational and ward-level factors explain the variance in multi-site musculoskeletal pain in eldercare workers? A multi-level cross-sectional study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 93, 891–898 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01540-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01540-7

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