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Background Disability due to back pain in nurses results in reduced productivity, work absenteeism and attrition from the nursing workforce internationally. Consistent use of outcome measures is needed in intervention studies to enable meta-analyses that determine efficacy of back pain preventive programs. Objective This study investigated the psychometric and measurement properties of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) in nursing students to determine its suitability for assessing back pain related disability in intervention studies. Methods Bachelor of Nursing students were recruited. Test–retest reliability and the ability of the ODI to discriminate between individuals with serious and non-serious back pain were investigated. The measurement error of the ODI was examined with the minimal detectable change at the 90% confidence level (MDC90). Results Student nurses (n = 214) had a low mean ODI score of 8.8 ± 7.4%. Participants with serious back pain recorded higher scores than the rest of the cohort (p < 0.05). Test–retest reliability examined in 33 individuals was ICC = 0.88 (95%CI 0.77–0.94). The MDC90 = 6%, and 36% of nursing students scored below the MDC90 indicating the tool had limited ability to detect longitudinal change in disability in this population. Conclusion Data from this and previous studies demonstrate that the measurement properties of the ODI are inappropriate for studying back pain related disability in nurses. The ODI is not recommended for back pain intervention studies in the nursing population and an alternative tool that is sensitive to lower levels of disability must be determined.

The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) quantifies musculoskeletal pain and activity prevention in 9 body regions. The purpose of this study was to develop an extended NMQ (NMQ-E) to collect greater information regarding musculoskeletal pain, examine test–retest reliability and the reproducibility of alternate administration methods. Reliability was examined using observed proportion of agreement for all ( P o ), positive ( P pos ) and negative ( P neg ) responses, kappa (κ), proportion of maximum kappa achieved (κ/κ max ), intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurement (SEM). The NMQ-E was self-administered by 59 Bachelor of Nursing students at a 24-h interval with mean P o = 0.88–0.98 and κ/κ max = 0.71–0.96 for 10 dichotomous questions and mean ICC (2,1) = 0.97 and SEM=1.05 years for the age at symptom onset question. The NMQ-E was completed via self and interview administration by 31 student nurses at a 0.97 ± 1.14 day interval with mean P o = 0.92–0.98 and κ/κ max = 0.76–1.00 for binary questions and mean ICC (2,1) = 0.90 and SEM=1.51 years for age at symptom onset data. In both sub-studies, mean P pos was lower than mean P neg and low prevalence reduced κ in many instances. The NMQ-E collects reliable information regarding the onset, prevalence, and consequences of musculoskeletal pain and can be administered by self-completion and personal interview. Perspective This study presents an NMQ-E that collects reliable information regarding the onset, prevalence, and consequences of musculoskeletal pain in 9 body regions. The NMQ-E can be utilized in descriptive studies or longitudinal studies of disease outcome and can be administered via self-completion and personal interview.