Musculoskeletal Disorders among Radiology Technologists at Governmental Hospitals- Gaza Governorates

Abstract :This study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among radiological technologists (RTs) working at governmental hospitals in Gaza Strip. The design of this study is descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional one. The sample of this study consisted of all RTs 172 (136 male and 36 female). A pilot study on 15 RTs was conducted to test validity and reliability of the study instrument. Different statistical procedures used for data analysis including cross tabulation, percentage and Chi square.

The results showed that the overall prevalence of MSDs among study participants was 75.6%. MSDs were higher among females (91.7%) compared to males (71.3%). Back was the dominant site for MSDs and it constitutes 31.5% and stiffness was the dominant type of pain (31.5%). Eighty three point five percent of males and 84.8% of females RTs complained of moderate to severe MSP. The majority of RTs (79.2%) have intermittent episodes of pain and 56.2% of  them complained of pain for more than 6 months. Regarding pain onset, 90.0% of RTs developed pain after they were employed in radiology department and 10.0% had MSP before working in radiology department. There were no statistical significant differences in MSP in relation to gender, age and years of experience. The highest complain of MSP (61.0%) was among RTs aged 40 years and less and the lowest complain (3.0%) was among RTs aged 51 – 59 years, 44.7% of those who complained of MSP were employed for 1 – 7 years. Among those who complained of pain, 82.3% asked for medical advice. Bending and twisting were the major risk factors for MSDs (88.4%) followed by lifting heavy objects and cassettes (85.5%), lifting and transferring patients (77.9%) and psychological pressure (77.3%), while sitting for long time (32.6%) and office work (19.2%) were the lowest risk factors. Concerning workplace environment, 58.7% of RTs reported that lighting in their workplace was unsuitable, 54.6% of them reported that floor was unsuitable and 58.1% reported that staff number was unsuitable. The study concluded that workplace modifications is needed (lighting and floor) beside the need to increase the number of qualified staff. Priority suggestions to avoid MSDs were decreasing the number of radiology procedures performed each day, distributing assignments fairly between staff and avoiding lifting heavy objects.