Physical and psychosocial factors associated with wrist or hand pain among Australian hospital-based nurses.

OBJECTIVE To assess the personal, physical and psychosocial factors associated with wrist or hand pain in Australian hospital-based nurses. METHODS Wrist or hand pain, associated disability and sickness absence, demographic, occupational, physical, psychosocial and personal factors among nurses working for three hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, were assessed in a cross-sectional study. Factors associated with wrist or hand pain in the past month were assessed using logistic regression. RESULTS This analysis was based on 1111 participants. The prevalence of wrist or hand pain in the past month was 15.3%. Repeated movements of the wrist or finger >4 h (OR 2.63, 95% CI 1.80 to 3.84), high job strain (1.54, 1.04 to 2.28), job insecurity (1.55, 1.04 to 2.28), somatisation tendency (2.73, 1.75 to 4.26), pain catastrophising (1.56, 1.03 to 2.37), better mental (0.97, 0.95 to 0.99) and physical (0.96, 0.94-0.98) health and well-being were associated with wrist or hand pain in the past month, after adjusting for possible confounding factors. When all significant factors were examined in the same model, repeated movements of the wrist or finger >4 h (2.50, 1.71 to 3.67), somatisation (2.61, 1.65 to 4.13) and better physical health and well-being (0.96, 0.94 to 0.99) remained independently associated with wrist or hand pain in the past month. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights that wrist or hand pain is prevalent in hospital nurses. Workplace physical factors and personal factors were associated with wrist or hand pain. Further longitudinal investigation is needed to examine the predictive nature of these factors.