A STUDY TO ASSESS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGE, LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT, AND NURSING ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE OCCURRENCE OF BACK PROBLEMS AMONG HOME CARE NURSES IN QATAR

Abstract

Back problems represent one of the most prevalent and debilitating occupational health issues affecting nurses worldwide, and home care nurses face distinctive risk factors arising from working in uncontrolled home environments without the ergonomic infrastructure of hospital settings. This paper investigates the relationship between age, length of employment, and specific nursing activities and the occurrence of back problems among home care nurses in Qatar, a context where the home care sector is expanding rapidly to serve an ageing and chronically ill population. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 284 home care nurses employed across public and private home care providers in Qatar, using a structured questionnaire incorporating the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire alongside measures of demographic characteristics, employment history, and activity exposure. Results show a high prevalence of back problems, with 61.3% of respondents reporting back pain in the preceding twelve months. Both age and length of employment showed significant positive associations with back problem occurrence, and specific activities including patient transfers, bathing assistance, and working in awkward postures emerged as the strongest activity-related predictors. Logistic regression confirmed that nurses over 40 years of age and those with more than ten years of employment had substantially elevated odds of back problems after controlling for confounders. The findings highlight the need for targeted ergonomic interventions, training, and workload management in the home care setting, and contribute context-specific evidence from a region where such research has been limited.