Quantification of Patient and Equipment Handling for Nurses Through Direct Observation and Subjective Perceptions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daraiseh N ; Davis, Kermit G. ; Kotowski SE ; Wilson TP
• Description:
  Background. Musculoskeletal disorders have continued to plague nurses in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Low back and shoulder injuries are the most prevalent, frequently linked to patient handling activities. Exposure to patient handling has been predominantly quantified by subjective responses of nurses. Objective. To directly observe handling of patients and other medical equipment for nurses during a 12-hour work shift. Methods. Twenty nurses working in three different intensive care units at a Midwest teaching hospital were directly observed during 12-hour day shifts. Direct observation included documenting frequency and type of handling performed and whether lift assist devices were utilized. Two additional surveys were completed by nurses to assess current pain levels and perceptions of lifting being performed. The observed lifting was compared to the perceived lifting with simple inference statistics. Results. Nurses have a high prevalence of manually lifting patients and medical devices but limited use of lifting assist devices. Nurses handled patients 69 times per shift and medical equipment 6 times per shift, but less than 3% utilized a lift assist device. Nurses suffered from high levels of pain at the end of the shift, with the highest prevalence in the lower back, lower legs, and feet/ankles (all above 60%). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hospitals Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Back Injuries Equipment Operation Exposure Levels Extremities Hospital Equipment Injuries Lifting Lifting Capacity Manual Lifting Medical Facilities MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Nurses Nursing Patient Handling Risk Factors

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• ISSN:
  2356-6795
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  2015
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049943
• Citation:
  Adv Nurs 2015 Jan; 2015:928538
• Contact Point Address:
  Kermit G. Davis, Low Back Biomechanics and Workplace Stress Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, 423 Kettering Laboratory Building, 3223 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Advances in Nursing
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4e6fabe6be5f66c131cbf4e63ae653c057b8497bf3028f45fc736562081ce3b7cac54cd36fd23f3edce53b4fe01ae69db6558df4ab24ef7d57cd7d7a5d744e2c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210529/cdc_210529_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.19 MB ]