| Sumario: | Background: Back pain is one of the leading skeletal health problem worldwide and a common complaint among nurses. It directly affects nurses' productivity at work and reduces the overall amount and quality of health care the clients receive. Objective: This study assessed the prevalence, risk factors and coping measures of back pain among nurses in Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study in which self-structured questionnaire were used to obtain information from 228 respondents conveniently selected from all units of nursing department. SPSS version 20 software was used for analysis and results were presented with frequency tables and percentages while chi square and t-test were used for hypotheses testing. Results: The respondents comprised of male 68 (29.8%) and female 160 (70.2%) nurses with mean age of 35.5+17.40 years. About half 113 (49.56%) of the respondents have 6 to10 years' experience. Prevalence of back pain is higher with nurses working in surgical ward (45.2%). Major work-related activities that causes back pain among respondents are, maintaining a particular position for a long period 187 (82.02%) and lifting of patients 185 (81.14%). Main back pain coping strategies adopted by the respondents are, asking for assistance when handling patients 193 (84.6%), modifying work procedures 191 (83.8%) and regular exercise 173 (75.9%). There were significant relationships between the prevalence of back pain and marital status/number of children; years of experience and the coping strategies adopted (Significant at 0.05 probability level). Conclusion: There is high prevalence of back pain among nurses at FMC, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria and diverse coping strategies are adopted. Educational programmes on prevention and coping strategies for back pain are recommended.
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