The Back College for nurses - an evaluation of intermediate effects

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Nursing staff and care workers face high risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, particularly low back pain.
• The Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW) offers a Back College program to prevent career abandonment due to back problems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the intermediate-term effectiveness and sustainability of the BGW's Back College program.
• To assess the impact of the Back College on participants' health, quality of life, and work ability.

Main Methods:

• A single-group pre-post measurement design was employed with surveys at the start (T0), end (T1), and 6 months post-rehabilitation (T2).
• Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests was performed on 570 complete datasets (70.81% response rate).

Main Results:

• Significant decreases in reported back pain and emotional strain were observed.
• Improvements were noted in general health, quality of life index, understanding of illness, and acquired knowledge-based skills.
• Participants demonstrated increased back-friendly behavior in daily life and greater utilization of spinal column strain relief opportunities at work, alongside an improved Work Ability Index.

Conclusions:

• The Back College curriculum demonstrated intermediate effectiveness in improving participants' health and work-related outcomes.
• Long-term stability of these effects will be assessed in a future follow-up measurement (T3 at 24 months).