What is it about?
To date, there are few studies carried out on low back pain (LBP)among university teaching staff in developing countries despite academics being a high-risk group for LBP. In Kenya, to the best of our knowledge, there are no published studies that have investigated risk factors for LBP among teaching staff. Our study has revealed a high burden of LBP among teaching staff of the University of Nairobi and undoubtedly mimics the situation in other higher learning institutions in Kenya. Physical inactivity, sitting on chairs without lumbar supports and workplace stress have been identified as modifiable risk factors for LBP among teaching staff.
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Why is it important?
Our findings suggests a need to strengthen advocacy for regular physical activity, team-building activities and investment in office infrastructure to mitigate the effects of LBP within learning institutions.
Perspectives
Writing this article was a great pleasure as it has co-authors with whom I have had long standing and useful collaborations. It is worthwhile to carry out such a study in others developing countries, especially in the African continent where teaching staff are highly exposed at work and mitigation measures are lacking. Findings of several studies could help researchers advocate for putting in place risk prevention measures at the learning workplaces.
Saikou Yaya Kollet Diallo
Department of Public Health, FHST, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Guinea.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Prevalence and risk factors for low back pain among university teaching staff in Nairobi, Kenya: a cross-sectional study, F1000Research, June 2019, Faculty of 1000, Ltd.,
DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.19384.1.
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