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Jane Lipscomb, PhD, RN, Alison Trinkoff, ScD, RN, Barbara Brady, RN, MS and Jeanne Geiger-Brown, PhD, RN

The authors are with the Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Nursing.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Jane Lipscomb, PhD, RN, UMB, SON, Suite 665, 655 W Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21201 (email: lipscomb{at}son.umaryland.edu).

Objectives. We evaluated the impact of health care system changes on nurses’ health, and we studied reported musculoskeletal disorders associated with these changes.

Methods. This cross-sectional study (n = 1163) defined a musculoskeletal disorder case as moderate pain that lasted at least 1 week or occurred monthly during the past year. Nurses were asked about changes in the health care system in the past year, and responses to 12 changes were summed and were categorized as low, moderate, or high changes.

Results. When the changes were summed, the adjusted odds ratios for musculoskeletal disorders for more than 6 versus 0 to 1 changes were (1) neck: 4.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.97, 10.08), (2) shoulder: 2.63 (95% CI = 1.17, 5.91), and (3) back: 3.42 (95% CI = 1.61, 7.27).

Conclusions. The adverse impact on health caused by the changing health care system must be addressed to prevent further injuries among nurses.

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