Prevalence and Associated Factors of Ankle-Foot Pain Among Nurses Working in Surgical Units of Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals in Amhara Regional State, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract

Background

Ankle-foot pain is a serious public health concern among nurses and has a significant impact on the quality of the health care service delivery system. However, little is known about the prevalence and factors associated with ankle-foot pain among nurses working in surgical units in Ethiopia.

Purpose

The study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of ankle-foot pain among nurses working in surgical units of comprehensive specialized hospitals in Amhara regional state, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022.

Participants and Methods

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 409 nurses working in surgical units of comprehensive specialized hospitals, from May 15 to June 7, 2022. A simple random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected by five BSc nurses using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. The descriptive statistics and bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were computed. Finally, variables were declared as statistically significant at P < 0.05 using the odds ratio and 95% CI.

Results

The prevalence of ankle-foot pain among nurses working in surgical units was 51.8% (95% CI = 46.9–57.5). More than 10 years of working experience [AOR = 3.48, 95% CI = 1.35–8.92], working 48 or more hours per week [AOR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.27–6.00], prolonged standing [AOR = 5.72, 95% CI = 3.20–10.25], high physical job demand [AOR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.53–3.80], and low job control [AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.47–3.71] had statistically significant association with ankle-foot pain.

Conclusion

This study found that ankle-foot pain was common among nurses working in surgical units. Having more years of work experience, working more hours per week, prolonged standing, high physical job demand, and low job control were statistically associated with ankle-foot pain.

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© 2023 Tamir Tsehay et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commerical (unported, v3.0) License. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.

Keywords:

• ankle-foot discomfort
• ankle-foot pain
• Northwest Ethiopia
• nurses

Abbreviations

AOR, Adjusted odds ratio; BMI, Body mass index; CI, Confidence interval; COR, Crude odds ratio; CSH, Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; DMCSH, Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; DTCSH, Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; ETB, Ethiopian birr; FHCSH, Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; ICU, Intensive care unit; IRB, Institution review board; JCQ, Job Content Questionnaire; OR, Operation room; RR, Recovery room; SNQ, Standardized Nordic Questionnaire; SPSS, Statistical Package for Social Science; TGCSH, Tibebegion Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; UOGCSH, University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital; WMSD, Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder.

Data Sharing Statement

The corresponding author can provide the data presented in this study upon request.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

Ethical clearance and approval were obtained from the ethical review committee of the school of nursing on behave of the institutional review board (IRB) of the University of Gondar with reference number S/N/241/2014 to conduct the study. Permission was obtained from each hospital administrator after explaining the purpose of the study. Written informed consent was obtained after providing information to each respondent regarding the purpose, risk, and benefit of participation. Confidentiality was maintained by making the data only accessible to the investigator. The Declaration of Helsinki’s ethical standards and guidelines were followed throughout the study.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the University of Gondar, College of Medicine and Health Science, School of Nursing, and Bahir Dar University College of Medicine and Health Science, School of Health Science for allowing us to do this thesis work. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the coordinators of comprehensive specialized hospitals in Amhara regional state, Northwest Ethiopia for their unreserved support. We would like to thank all data collectors, supervisors, and respondents.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to this work; contributed to conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript; involved in drafting, and critically reviewing of the article; have agreed on the journal to which the article will be submitted, and reviewed and agreed on all versions of the article before submission and during revision; agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.