No abstract

perform manual transfer of patients lying on low height beds. Nurses' risk of musculoskeletal disorders is remaining to be high. In this study, Fc was chosen as the indicator of low back loads. The aim of this study was to verify the amount of Fc during patient transfer. In addition, the comparison of Fc between different bed heights and relationship between Fc and bed heights were verified. Although there are many kinds of nursing care given to patients lying on bed, the transfer in which a nurse moves the patient to the upper side of the bed was chosen for this study. This is because this transfer is a single action and the distance between nurse and patient is constant for the most of the movement, which makes it simpler to analyze. In addition, this transfer is a moderate form of transferring care that is practiced to various types of patients. Because of these reasons, this transfer was chosen for this study. 2 Methods 2-1 Participants Twelve healthy women who have been working in a hospital as a nurse for more than one year were recruited to participate in this study. The following requirements were added 1 the nurse attended a lecture about body mechanics and workspace layout in nursing school before being employed as a nurse, and 2 she has no symptoms of any musculoskeletal disorders that might affect her daily work. 2-2 Equipments All participants wore identical black T-shirts, half pants, high-socks, and sandals. Sandals were chosen because Short communication The Relationship between the Nurses' Low Back Load and the Height of the Bed during Patient Transfer, by Tomoko TAMARU, Yoko ASO, Aki IBE, Yoko HONDA & Hiroko ARAOKA.

This study examines usual postures of the elderly when applying eye drops, as well as the relationship between the use of the backrest of a chair and the success in application. A survey of elderly people was conducted regarding their postures where elderly women applied the eye drops. A motion analysis of the involved movements was then carried out. From videos, angles of the neck extension, the elbow joint, the lumbar extension, and that of the eye drop container were measured, all during application. Comparisons were made between the presence and the absence of the backrest of a chair, the success, and the failure in application, and whether the drops missed their intended mark. It was found that when the application failed in the absence of the backrest, the neck extension angle was significantly narrower. However, when using the backrest, an extended waist led to easier neck extension, suggesting that the risks of application failure or the dropper tip touching the person could be reduced. It can be concluded that using a chair with a backrest makes applying eye drops safer and easier, and this method can be incorporated into the instructions regarding the application of eye drops.