FREQUENCY OF FOOT AND ANKLE PAIN AMONG NURSES OF HAYATABAD MEDICAL COMPLEX-PESHAWAR

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing is the backbone of healthcare system which is mentally and physically demanding job. Since nurses remain on their feet for the majority of time, due to which they are more likely to suffer from foot and ankle problems. Therefore, the objective of the study was to find out the frequency of foot and ankle pain among nurses in Peshawar.

Material & Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among the nurses of Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. A total of 197 participants were approached for this study on the basis of convenient sampling. They included both male and female participants. Data was collected from different wards of the hospital. Aboriginal Foot and Ankle Injury Questionnaire was used to collect data and to determine the frequency of foot and ankle pain. For determining association of foot and ankle pain, Pearson correlation (r) and Spearman correlation (ρ) were used and p value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Out of 197 participants, 192 responded to our questionnaire (response rate 97%). Of these, 70 were male (36.45%) and 122 were female (63.54%). The number of participants having no problem at their feet and ankle were 6 (3.1%) and 8 (4.2%) respectively. Participants having minor foot and ankle problem were 72 (37.5%) and 71 (37%) and those having moderate problem were 95 (49.5%) and 77(40.1%). Those having major foot and ankle problems were 19 (9.9%) and 36 (18.8%) respectively. A statistically significant correlation of foot pain was found with age and years of service. Similarly, correlation of ankle injury with BMI and years of service was found to be statistically significant. 

Conclusion: The results of our study concluded that the frequency of foot and ankle pain was common among the nurses. Majority of our nurses had moderate and major foot and ankle pain. Our study also determined the relationship between some risk factors such as age, gender, BMI, years of service and shoe wear with foot and ankle pain.