Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders: Prevalence, contributing factors and coping strategies among Physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola districts, Zambia

Background: Injuries at a work place comprise a substantial part of injury burden. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) are common in the field of physiotherapy because the nature of job tasks is physically challenging and therapeutic procedures are often repetitive, labour intensive and involve direct contact with patients. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence, contributing factors and coping strategies for WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola districts of Zambia. Methods: Data was collected using a selfadministered semi structured questionnaire in a cross sectional study. Data were summarized using percents for categorical variables, mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables, and median (Q1, Q3) for skewed variables. Results: A total of 120 physiotherapists participated in the survey and of these 82 (68.3%) experienced WRMDs that lasted for more than 3 days in the previous 12 months to the survey. Most (40.7%) participants experienced work-related injuries within the first five years after graduation. The majority of the participants indicated that the following work factors contributed to WRMDs: treating a large number of patients per day (97.5%), repeatedly performing the same task (94.9%), performing manual therapy techniques (93.2%), working in the same position for long periods (92.1%), and lifting and transferring patients (88.6%). Conclusions: WRMDs are common among physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola districts of Zambia. Outcomes underlines the importance of further research with larger sample sizes to examine factors associated with WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel in this country.