Low back pain among academic staff at a university in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Hailu Tesfaye, A; Abere, G; Demoze, L; Yitageasu, G; Mekonnen, TH

Low back pain among academic staff at a university in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Hailu Tesfaye, A Abere, G Demoze, L Yitageasu, G Mekonnen, TH

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Publisher:: BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: BMJ Open, 2025, 15, (10), pp. e096965
Issue Date:: 2025-10-21

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hailu Tesfaye, A
dc.contributor.author	Abere, G
dc.contributor.author	Demoze, L
dc.contributor.author	Yitageasu, G
dc.contributor.author	Mekonnen, TH
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-05T07:34:36Z
dc.date.available	2025-09-30
dc.date.available	2025-11-05T07:34:36Z
dc.date.issued	2025-10-21
dc.identifier.citation	BMJ Open, 2025, 15, (10), pp. e096965
dc.identifier.issn	2044-6055
dc.identifier.issn	2044-6055
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190623
dc.description.abstract	OBJECTIVE: Low back pain (LBP) is a common occupational health problem among academic staff, often associated with prolonged sitting, poor ergonomics and psychosocial stress. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of LBP and its associated factors among academic staff at a university in Ethiopia. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among academic staff at the University of Gondar (Gondar, Ethiopia) using simple random sampling from March to April 2021. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 607 workers participated in the study. OUTCOME MEASURES: A self-administered, structured Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to assess the occurrences of LBP over the past 12 months. Data were analysed using Stata (V.14), and associations between variables were examined using binary logistic regression. Results are presented as adjusted ORs (AOR) with 95% CIs, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of LBP in the last 7 days was 44.8% (95% CI 40.8% to 48.86%), and over the past 12 months it was 55.68% (95% CI 51.63% to 59.68%). A significant difference in 7-day prevalence was observed between female and male participants (39.86% vs 15.81%, respectively; χ² = 0.887; p=0.02). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, being female was associated with higher odds of LBP (AOR=1.72; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.57; p=0.009), as was working more than 8 hours per day (AOR=1.45; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.10; p=0.038), physical inactivity (AOR=1.88; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.72; p=0.001) and prolonged standing during work hours (AOR=1.63; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.59; p=0.036). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of LBP among academic staff is high. Targeted interventions are recommended to address LBP, focusing on gender-sensitive strategies to mitigate the additional burden on female staff, time management to reduce long working hours and workplace programmes to limit sedentary behaviour, encourage physical activity and improve ergonomic awareness.
dc.format	Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
dc.relation.ispartof	BMJ Open
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1136/bmjopen-2024-096965
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1103 Clinical Sciences, 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
dc.subject.classification	32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
dc.subject.classification	42 Health sciences
dc.subject.classification	52 Psychology
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Ethiopia
dc.subject.mesh	Low Back Pain
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Cross-Sectional Studies
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Prevalence
dc.subject.mesh	Occupational Diseases
dc.subject.mesh	Universities
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Logistic Models
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Low Back Pain
dc.subject.mesh	Occupational Diseases
dc.subject.mesh	Prevalence
dc.subject.mesh	Logistic Models
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors
dc.subject.mesh	Cross-Sectional Studies
dc.subject.mesh	Universities
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Ethiopia
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Ethiopia
dc.subject.mesh	Low Back Pain
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Cross-Sectional Studies
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Prevalence
dc.subject.mesh	Occupational Diseases
dc.subject.mesh	Universities
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Logistic Models
dc.title	Low back pain among academic staff at a university in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	15
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
utslib.for	1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-11-05T07:34:33Z
pubs.issue	10
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	15
utslib.citation.issue	10

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Low back pain (LBP) is a common occupational health problem among academic staff, often associated with prolonged sitting, poor ergonomics and psychosocial stress. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of LBP and its associated factors among academic staff at a university in Ethiopia. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among academic staff at the University of Gondar (Gondar, Ethiopia) using simple random sampling from March to April 2021. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 607 workers participated in the study. OUTCOME MEASURES: A self-administered, structured Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to assess the occurrences of LBP over the past 12 months. Data were analysed using Stata (V.14), and associations between variables were examined using binary logistic regression. Results are presented as adjusted ORs (AOR) with 95% CIs, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of LBP in the last 7 days was 44.8% (95% CI 40.8% to 48.86%), and over the past 12 months it was 55.68% (95% CI 51.63% to 59.68%). A significant difference in 7-day prevalence was observed between female and male participants (39.86% vs 15.81%, respectively; χ² = 0.887; p=0.02). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, being female was associated with higher odds of LBP (AOR=1.72; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.57; p=0.009), as was working more than 8 hours per day (AOR=1.45; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.10; p=0.038), physical inactivity (AOR=1.88; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.72; p=0.001) and prolonged standing during work hours (AOR=1.63; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.59; p=0.036). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of LBP among academic staff is high. Targeted interventions are recommended to address LBP, focusing on gender-sensitive strategies to mitigate the additional burden on female staff, time management to reduce long working hours and workplace programmes to limit sedentary behaviour, encourage physical activity and improve ergonomic awareness.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190623