Long-Term Efficacy of an Ergonomics Program That Includes Patient-Handling Devices on Reducing Musculoskeletal Injuries to Nursing Personnel

Abstract

Implementation of patient-handling devices along with a comprehensive program can be effective in reducing MSDs among nursing personnel. Strategies to expand usage of patient-handling devices in most health care settings should be explored.

Patient transfers and assistive devices: prospective cohort study on the risk for occupational back injury among healthcare workers

“…Compared with data from the US, Australia, and Canada, which often report yearly prevalences of musculoskeletal injuries >20%, this number seems quite low (15)(16)(17), even though within the US there are large differences in injury claims across studies (26). Such differences may to a large extent be explained by differences in case definitions and reporting behaviors.…”

“…This supports results from Australian and US studies showing up to 44% reduced numbers of back injury claims after implementation of "no lifting" or "minimal manual lifting" policies, eg, by using assistive devices during patient transfer (15,16). In a study by Garg and Kapellusch (17), a more comprehensive participatory ergonomics program -including several aspects such as a "no manual lifting" policy, management commitment, empowering ergonomics teams in selection and use of equipment, program training, compliance, and continuous improvement -in seven nursing facilities in the US resulted in 60% fewer patient-handling injuries 2-5 years later (17). An observational study across 23 US states showed that safe lift programs in healthcare facilities -endorsed and promoted by directors of nursing -reduced injury compensation claims frequency and costs (28).…”

“…Intervention studies using pre-post designs have identified factors associated with reduced risk for back injury (15)(16)(17). An Australian study observed a reduced number of back injury claims across an entire healthcare system after introducing a "no lifting" policy [eg, by using appropriate assistive device during patient transfer (15)].…”

“…While the authors reported a 44% reduction of musculoskeletal injuries related to patient transfer in the hospital, no such effect was evident at the medical center. In response to a participatory ergonomics program, Garg and coworkers (17) found a 60% reduction of injuries related to patient transfer across six long-term care facilities and one chronic care hospital (17).…”

Enhancing Undergraduate Research Experience with Cutting Edge Technologies

“…Such injuries often result in significant lost work time, and could lead to low morale in workplace. While best practices in patient handling are known, training alone has proven ineffective due to the lack of compliance in actual practice [16], [17]. In this project, we aim to develop a low-cost real-time monitoring and feedback system to enhance the workers' compliance to best practices.…”