District nurses' experiences of musculoskeletal wellbeing: a qualitative study

Musculoskeletal disorders significantly contribute to staff sickness and absence in the NHS. District nurses are especially at risk because patient handling tasks are often carried out outside a clinical environment.

To explore district nurses' lived experience of musculoskeletal wellbeing.

An exploratory qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of seven district nurses.

Study participants accepted musculoskeletal pain as part of nursing and reported little time for physical activity, often because of work and family commitments. Participants identified treating patients' leg ulcers as a risk factor for developing MSD, while generic workplace wellbeing initiatives delivered via email failed to engage their interest.

This study provides a useful insight into district nurses' experiences of musculoskeletal wellbeing and represents an important first step in producing recommendations for future research with the aim of developing strategies for improving workplace musculoskeletal wellbeing that would be acceptable to staff.