Musculoskeletal symptoms and quality of life among workers at an intensive care unit in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil

BACKGROUND: Having more than job and physical exhaustion derived from the job demands considerably overload workers and impair their quality of life (QoL). These factors might interfere with the health of this population of workers reflecting as work-related musculoskeletal disorders. AIM: To investigate the correlation between musculoskeletal symptoms and QoL among workers at the intensive care unit of a public hospital in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional quantitative, observational and analytical study performed with 30 workers at a public hospital ICU. WHOQOL-BREF, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and a sample profile instrument were administered by the investigators during the working hours. RESULTS: 86.7% of the sample reported pain in at least one body side, particularly in the knees in the past 7 seven days (23.3%) and in the lower back in the past 12 months (50%). The participants’ QoL was reasonable. We found significant moderate correlation between pain and WHOQOL domains physical health (p=0.10) and social relationships (p=0.011) but no correlation with the participants general characteristics. CONCLUSION: Occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms might interfere with the QoL, social life and performance at work of ICU workers.