Prevalence, Cause, and Response to Occupational Musculoskeletal Injuries among Occupational Therapists in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a group of conditions that affect one or more ligaments, muscles, tendons, nerves, synovial membranes (joint tissue), and fascia (connective tissue). When healthcare professionals suffer from WMSDs, their quality of life and productivity are reduced. They cannot provide quality of care to their patients. Ultimately, the findings of this study can inform the development of preventive strategies to promote the well-being and longevity of occupational therapists, thereby ensuring the delivery of high-quality healthcare services to individuals in need. Aim: This study aimed to examine the prevalence, cause, and response to occupational musculoskeletal injuries among occupational therapists in Bangladesh. Methods: The study followed a cross-sectional quantitative study design. Data were collected through a face-to-face survey among 150 participants from where clinical occupational therapists work in Bangladesh, including special schools, rehabilitation centre, hospitals, NGOs and INGOs. Data was collected by using Occupational Musculoskeletal Injuries Questionnaire (OMIQ). SPSS 26 version was used to conduct the descriptive analysis, Fisher’s exact and Chi-Square tests in the study. Results: The findings showed the prevalence rate that in the last 12 months of the working period, 87.3% of occupational therapists experienced occupational musculoskeletal injuries. In a paediatric outpatient unit, 25.5% of participants experienced the most injuries while they were working there. Muscle spasms were reported as the most prevalent type of injury (43%), and the lower back was reported as the most common body part (22%) of the injury. Most therapists (56%) did not officially report their injuries. 40% of OTs reported to taking medical care, 65.30% were taking self-treatment or colleagues’ help, and 35.30% missed half days or more from work due to their injury. 65.3% of OTs stated they were taking adaptive responses to minimize occupational musculoskeletal injury, such as changing working positions frequently (16.8%). 91.3% of OTs reported that they did not limit their patient contact time and 68.0% reported that they did not consider changing their occupation. 46.7% of occupational therapists have suffered different psychosocial problems after they experience occupational musculoskeletal injury. Patient contact time was the primary associated factor with occupational musculoskeletal injury, and most of the therapists did not report their injuries. Conclusion: The study contributed to a gross understanding of demographic and occupational musculoskeletal injury status. Occupational musculoskeletal injury represents a high prevalence for occupational therapists in Bangladesh. The study showed that patient contact time was the most significant injury-related factor. It emphasised the importance of workload management and ergonomic considerations in occupational therapy practice settings. Implementing preventive strategies, providing training in safe patient handling techniques, and promoting the culture of reporting the injury to improve occupational therapists physical and mental health and enhance the quality of rehabilitation services in Bangladesh's health care system. Keywords: Occupational Musculoskeletal Injury, Work Related Musculoskeletal Injury, Occupational Therapists, Musculoskeletal Inj