RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND BELIEFS AMONG NURSES WITH LOW BACK PAIN

Abstract

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a significant problem among nurses. The consequence of LBP is decreased level of daily activities and work productivity. LBP has been linked to biopsychosocial factors. Among them, beliefs about the pain are crucial as they have an effect on recovery process. There is paucity of evidence for understanding the relationship between beliefs and functional disability about LBP. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the co-relation between functional disability and beliefs among nurses with LBP. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted. One forty participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria and self administered questionnaires were given to them. The functional disability was assessed using Oswestry Disability index (ODI) and beliefs related to their back pain were assessed using Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ). Results: The median score of nurses on ODI was 20% indicating minimal disability. For the BBQ, the median score was 27 which indicate positive beliefs of nurses towards LBP. Spearman's rho test indicated very weak negative correlation between ODI and BBQ scores with a p value< 0.05. Conclusion: The study suggests that there was minimal disability among nurses and also they demonstrated moderately positive beliefs towards LBP. The beliefs of nurses did not influence their level of function.