Validity of backs tool in assessing low back pain among Nurses in Malaysia

Abstract

Back Apparatus: Collaboration between UKMMC with SOCSO” (BACKS) Tool is a Malay-language questionnaire that was developed to assess work-related chronic low back pain (LBP) in Malaysia. This study provided internal structure evidence of construct validity of BACKS Tool among nurses in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study involving 1290 nurses in six public hospitals in Penang, Malaysia was conducted. Job demands sub-scale consists of two factors namely Physical Demand (5 items) and Psychological Demand (9 items). The data was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The analysis showed two- and one-factor models fit the data equally good (CFI and TLI>0.9, RMSEA<0.08, SRMR<0.08) with good composite reliability. However, the two-factor model showed poor discrimination between the Physical Demand and Psychological Demand factors (r=0.944). Although the discrimination could be justified based on the content of the items, it is recommended to consider combining the factors into a single factor in future studies.