Factors Associated with Safe Patient Handling Behaviors and Lift Use Among Hospital Nurses: A Statewide Survey of California Nurses

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lee JH ; Lee S-J
• Description:
  Unsafe patient handling is the primary cause of musculoskeletal injury among nurses. Safe work practices can prevent musculoskeletal injury. This study investigated factors associated with safe patient handling behaviors and lift use among hospital nurses. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from a statewide random sample of 212 California hospital nurses who performed patient handling. Data were collected using postal and online surveys on sociodemographics, organizational safety practices, physical and psychosocial job factors, musculoskeletal symptoms, risk perception, perception about lift use, frequency of lift use, and safe patient handling behaviors. Lift equipment was available for 65.6% of the participants (n = 139); these nurses reported using lifts <=25% of the time (51.5%), 26% to 50% of the time (18.1%), 51% to 75% of the time (10.9%), and 76% to 100% of the time (19.6%) when lifting/transferring physically dependent patients. Positive perceptions about lift use (ease, patient comfort, time, access, storage) were associated with frequent use of lifts (p < .05). In multiple linear regression analysis, safe patient handling behavior was associated with safety climate (B = .29, p = .0004), availability of lifts (B = .25, p = .0002), older age (B = .14, p = .041), and day shifts (B = .13, p = .048). For physical workload, job strain, and musculoskeletal symptoms, only bivariate associations were observed with safe patient handling behaviors. Risk perception was not correlated with safe patient handling behaviors. The findings suggest that safety climate, lift availability, and perceptions about lifts are significant factors for safe work practices of nurses. Special attention should be given to younger nurses working non-day shifts to promote safe work practices. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cross Sectional Studies Lifting MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Nurses Nursing Patient Handling Safety Climate Work Practices
• ISSN:
  2165-0799
• Publisher:
  American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  432-433
• Volume:
  63
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055991
• Citation:
  Workplace Health Saf 2015 Oct; 63(10):432-433
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Workplace Health & Safety. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) 2015 Annual Conference, March 23-26, 2015, Boston, Massachusetts
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d0d1158d2a80946f54afe2010e24ab1037a01cd7599e034038c935d0d78c21716e138a79bf5889c728e954c00f841366407dee8da8e2240a1804d51ae06e7979
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213716/cdc_213716_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 55.87 KB ]