Background: Nurses routinely perform repetitive and precision-based occupational activities, including intravenous cannulation and clinical documentation. These activities involve repetitive wrist and hand movements, gripping, pinch force, sustained postures and fine motor control, which may contribute to work-related wrist and hand musculoskeletal symptoms. Although work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses have been widely studied, comparatively less attention has been given to wrist and hand symptoms associated with repetitive nursing tasks.
Objective: To determine the prevalence and severity of wrist and hand repetitive strain symptoms among nurses performing intravenous cannulation and clinical documentation using the Patient-Rated Wrist and Hand Evaluation (PRWHE).
Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among nurses aged 21–50 years at Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College and Hospital, Jalgaon, over a period of six months. A total of 165 nurses meeting the predefined eligibility criteria participated in the study. Demographic and occupational information including age, gender, hand dominance, clinical experience, weekly working hours and documentation duration was collected. Wrist and hand symptoms and functional limitations were assessed using the Patient-Rated Wrist and Hand Evaluation. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed descriptively.
Results: A total of 165 nurses participated in the study. The mean age was 24.98 ± 3.71 years and the mean clinical experience was 3.66 ± 2.57 years. Participants worked an average of 48.24 ± 1.21 hours per week and spent an average of 17.23 ± 4.59 hours per week performing clinical documentation. Most participants were aged 21–35 years (161; 97.57%), female (130; 78.78%) and right-hand dominant (152; 92.12%). Regarding PRWHE severity, 98 participants (59.39%) had mild symptoms, 58 (35.15%) had moderate symptoms, 7 (4.24%) had minimal symptoms and 2 (1.21%) had severe symptoms.
Conclusion: Wrist and hand repetitive strain symptoms were common among nurses performing intravenous cannulation and clinical documentation, with mild and moderate symptom severity predominating. The findings highlight the importance of early occupational screening, ergonomic education, adequate recovery periods and preventive physiotherapy strategies to reduce the occupational burden of wrist and hand symptoms among nurses.