Table 2.
Study characteristics.
| Author | Participants | Intervention | Control | Design | Setting | Outcomes | Results | Quality Rating | ||||
| Number | Age, M (SD) | M/F (%F) | Number | Age, M (SD) | M/F (%F) | /10 | ||||||
| Hartvigsen 2005 | 316 nurses & nursing assistants | 171 | 44.6 (7.17a) | 100 | 145 | 44.4 (7.2a) | 100 | Pre-post with nonrandomized control | Home care | No. days with LBP past 12 months; No. episodes of LBP past 12 months | No sig. differences at 24 months | 3 |
| Svensson 2009 | 688 Nursing assistant students | 389 | 32 (10) | 100 | 279 | 33 (11) | 100 | Cluster randomised prospective study | Higher education | Sickness absence (days) during the last 14 months; No. participants experienced LBP last 12 months | Sig. higher sickness absence in control group at 14 months; No sig. difference in LBP | 6 |
| Svensson 2011 | 306 Nursing assistant students | 177 | 35 (12) | 90 | 129 | 35 (11) | 84 | Cluster randomised prospective study | Higher education | No. participants experienced continuous LBP for >3 months; Sickness absence (days) in last 12 months | No sig. differences at 36 months | 6 |
| Black 2011 | 766 Direct care workers | 151a | 40.89 (10.2)b | 94b | 165b | 39.1 (10.7)b | 94 %b | Retrospective pre- post, with nonrandomized control | Hospital and residential aged care | Injury rate: No. injuries per 100 FTE hours | Sig. decrease in injury rates in intervention group | 5 |
| Lim 2011 | 1480 Direct care workers | 782 | 41.2 (10.1) | 93 | 689 | 39.3 (10.2) | 91 | quasi-experimental with non-randomised control | Hospital and residential aged care | No. repeated injuries | Sig. fewer repeated injuries in small and medium hospitals, no difference in large hospitals | 5 |
| Jaromi 2018 | 137 nurses with LBP | 67 | 41.73 (3.54) | 93 | 70 | 41.4 (3.7) | 94 | RCT | Hospital | LBP intensity (VAS) previous 1 week | Sig. reduction in VAS at conclusion of 12-week program | 4 |
| Jensen 2006 | 142 nurses, nursing assistants and home care workers | 65 | 44.6 (9.8) | 100 | 77 | 44 (8.5) | 100 | RCT | Home care, disability and residential aged care | LBP intensity (VAS) last 3 and 12 months | No sig. differences at 24 months | 5 |
| Shojaei 2017 | 125 nursing assistants with LBP | 63 | <30 = 14 30-45 = 36, >45 = 13 |
17.5 | 62 | <30 = 15 30-45 = 40, >45 = 7 |
24.2 | RCT | Hospital | LBP intensity (VAS), period undefined | Sig. reduction in VAS at 6 months | 6 |
| Warming 2008 | 181 nurses | 105 | 33.65 (8.4)c | 92c | 76 | 35.7 (10.9) | 90 | Cluster randomised prospective study | Hospital | No. participants experienced LBP last 3 and 12 months; Average pain intensity (VAS) last 3 and 12 months; No. participants who have taken sick leave due to LBP last 3 and 12 months; LBP Disability score (Nordic Questionnaire) 12 months | No sig. differences | 6 |
Abbreviations: No. – number, LBP – lower back pain, sig. – significant(ly), FTE – full-time equivalent, VAS – visual analogue scale, RCT – randomised controlled trial.
a
Range converted to SD as per method describes by Hozo, Djulbegovic [43].
b
post cohort data only.
c
pooled for both intervention arms.