Ergonomics and Occupational Health: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital in Botswana

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are, to this day, considered one of the major occupational health risks, especially among healthcare workers. Poor working conditions, such as awkward postures, are associated with the development of MSD. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of nurses at a public tertiary hospital in Botswana relating to ergonomic principles. Methods: The researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey, using a self-administered questionnaire to collect the data. The researchers employed Stata v18 (StataCorp, USA) to perform descriptive and inferential statistics. The chi-square test was used to determine the association between knowledge levels and sociodemographic variables. p-values ≤ 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. Results: In total, 306 nurses participated in the study, and a response rate of 88.4% was achieved. The mean age was 35.5 (SD± 8.79) years. Most (69%) participants were female nurses. About 99.3% (95%CI: 97.7-99.9) of the participants were familiar with the concept of ergonomics. Only a small proportion of participants (26%) possessed high levels of knowledge, exhibited positive attitudes, and demonstrated good practices in relation to ergonomic principles, following the composite analysis. A statistically significant relationship was found to exist between sex and practice (p = 0.030) and between length of work and practice (p = 0.013). Conclusions: The KAP analysis indicated that most nurses had poor practices regarding essential ergonomic principles. These findings could inform policy development and enable employers to design prevention strategies, especially those aimed at preventing lower back pain (LBP).