Relationship Between Low Back Pain with Quality of Life, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Emergency Medical Technicians

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders have become increasingly common among healthcare providers. They have become the most common cause of work-related disabilities among nurses. OBJECTIVES: The current cross-sectional study aimed to measure the prevalence of back pains among emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and association of back pain with quality of life, depression, anxiety and stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and eighty registered nurses working as EMTs at the Hamadan Emergency Medical Center were selected by consensus. Data collection tools were Demographic, Perceived Quality-of-Life, Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DAS21) and pain scale measurements. RESULTS: Data showed that while 50.7% of the participants had an average awareness of the basic principles of back care, the majority (71.8%) had at least one type of back pain. There were associations between the prevalence of pain and depression (P = 0.049), pain and awareness (P = 0.035), and stress and job satisfaction (P = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: A large number (about two-thirds) of EMTs had some sort of back pain; it is highly recommended to promote the attitude and motivation of the individuals to take care to prevent back injury and inform them of the principles of back care. Implications for primary prevention and care practice include encouraging EMTs to apply accurate principles of back care.