Development of an educational protocol for ergonomic risk assessment of working postures to enhance the competence of occupational health nurses

Abstract

Aim: To develop a protocol and provide a valid, evidence-based procedure for identifying the ergonomic risk of working postures by occupational health nurses.Background: Although ergonomic risk assessment tools have been used for the early detection of risky working postures, their operational procedures and validations do not target the competence of occupational nursing personnel.Design: This study developed and validated an educational protocol, comprised of 13 procedures in five stages. First, the number of work tasks in the workplace is determined. Second, the working postures are confirmed. Third, the raters are trained to use the assessment tools. Fourth, high-risk postures are identified and categorized.Fifth, the inter-rater reliability of the tool is reported. The content of the protocol is validated by experts, with a validity value of 0.87. Data sources:The protocol was created through review of literature published from 1991 to 2021, protocol development (between 2018 to 2020) and expert validation (2020). Conclusion:The protocol can be applied to educate occupational health nurses and increase their competence in detecting workers' ergonomic risks. It can be used as a reference in occupational health nursing education to evaluate work tasks and detect risky postures.