Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs
Open Access

Research Article

Low Back Pain and Associated Factors among Teachers in Gondar Town, North Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

¹Department Of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

²Department of Health service Management, Institute of public health, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

³Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

*Corresponding Author:

Teresa Kisi Beyen
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Institute of Public Health College of Medicine and Health Science
University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
E-mail: terek7@gmail.com

Received date: June 25, 2013; Accepted date: August 07, 2013; Published date: August 10, 2013

Citation: Beyen TK, Mengestu MY, Zele YT (2013) Low Back Pain and Associated Factors among Teachers in Gondar Town, North Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Occup Med Health Aff 1:127. doi: 10.4172/2329-6879.1000127

Copyright: © 2013 Beyen TK, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract Background: Low back pain prevalence is somewhat higher in the wealthier countries (42% vs. 35%). But, the epidemiological information regarding the prevalence and associated risk factors of low back pain among universities, colleges and school teachers in Ethiopia are unknown. Thus the aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of low back pain among universities, colleges and school teachers in Ethiopia, particularly in Gondar town. Methods: To assess prevalence of low back pain and associated factors among primary and secondary school, and higher institution (college and university) teachers in Gondar town, an institution based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted. A total of 662 teachers were included in the study. Teachers in the town were selected by stratified random sampling from their institutions in which they work. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to identify factors associated with low back pain. Results: Of 602 teachers, 346 (57.5%) experienced low back pain (LBP) throughout their job career. The twelve month prevalence of LBP among teachers was 324 (53.8%). Doing regular physical exercise [AOR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.34, 0.82], provisions of office at working institution [AOR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.33, 0.81] and satisfaction with working environment and culture [AOR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.36, 0.86] were among factors significantly associated with low back pain. Conclusion: This study showed high prevalence of low back pain among teachers. Doing regular physical exercise, provisions of office at working institution and satisfaction with working environment and culture, were among the most contributing factors in reducing low back pain. Therefore, doing regular physical activity, avoiding their smoking habit, Getting enough time for sleep and avoiding worries reduces the risk of low back pain among teachers.