[Lower back pain in occupational care workers and its risk factors in Yamagata Prefecture]

We investigated the risk factors for lower back pain in occupational care workers in Yamagata prefecture, Japan. The results of self-administered questionnaire surveys completed by 244 care workers of four nursing homes and 174 visiting care workers of four support centers in Yamagata prefecture suggest that the morbidity of lower back pain among care workers depends on a past anamnesis of lower back pain, habitual smoking, workplace management and working environment control for the care workers. The results of self-administered questionnaire surveys completed by administrators of 33 nursing homes confirm that the risk factors for lower back pain in care workers consisted of the lack of a resting room in the nursing homes and the absence of educational programs to prevent occupational lower back pain. The results of the surveys of the managers of 23 support centers show that the risk factors for lower back pain in visiting care workers are a result of there being no practice of carrying out lumbago examinations prior to employment.