An Ergonomic Comparison Between Mechanical and Manual Patient Transfer Techniques

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bloswick, Donald S. ; Lillquist D ; Perkins MS ; Silvia CE ; Wallace D
• Description:
  Multiple studies have concluded that manual patient transfer and repositioning techniques are a significant cause of low back injuries. The objective of this study was to compare the low back stresses resulting from the use of two different mechanical patient transfer assist devices with the use of traditional manual transfer techniques. The mechanical transfer systems used were the Barton Patient Transfer System and a Sling-Suspension Lift similar to a "Hoyer Lift". The back compressive forces derived using the Michigan 3D Static Strength Model (Version 4.0) and electromyography (EMG) of the muscles of the low back were compared. This study found that the mechanical assist devices placed less stress on the low back and were more desirable to use than the traditional manual techniques. The Barton System was found to be, in general, less hazardous and more preferred than the Sling Suspension Lift. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hospitals Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Back-injuries Health-care-personnel Hoisting-equipment Hospital-equipment Human-factors-engineering Injuries Injury-prevention Manual-lifting Medical-equipment Medical-personnel Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Nurses Occupational-health

  More +
• ISSN:
  1051-9815
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  19-34
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037555
• Citation:
  Work 2002 Jul/Aug; 19(1):19-34
• Contact Point Address:
  Donald S. Bloswick, Ph.D., P.E., CPE, University of Utah, Mechanical Engineering, 50 S. Central Campus Dr., Rm. 2202, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9208
• Email:
  bloswick@mech.utah.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  University of Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Work
• End Date:
  20020630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:716ea8b2c50ae502a4cc2b78179f74372cf5d4eada3763b6a307b73c7d9a8d6f59caac7735eb7cde1a4d1524c28072e0d737f4473668aa087dc5f7e6b9b618d4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188631/cdc_188631_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 294.52 KB ]