Understanding Factors That Affect the Adoption of Ergonomic Interventions Among EMS Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Crawford JM ; Fernandez AR ; Johnson MR ; Lavender SA ; Reichelt PA
• Description:
  The primary goal of this study was to understand the adoption of specific voluntarily used ergonomic interventions aimed at the musculoskeletal needs of EMS workers. According to previous research in the areas of information technology, acceptance and diffusion of innovation, worker's perceptions and attitudes impact the adoption of an intervention. Prior research identified the lateral transfer of patients as a frequently performed strenuous task performed by EMS workers. The intervention introduced is a transfer-board, designed and biomechanically validated to assist with these lateral transfers. In the current study EMS workers were surveyed to determine which factors most closely correlated with their intention to use the transfer-board. The data suggest that the perception that it is easy to use, the patient is safer while using the transfer-board, the transfer-board is compatible with other pieces of equipment and the smoothness of the patient transfer when using the transfer-board are all factors that may predict adoption. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Emergency Medical Services Workers EMS Intervention Lifting MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Patient Handling
• ISSN:
  1071-1813
• Publisher:
  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  54
• Issue:
  15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056851
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting, September 27-October 1, 2010, San Francisco, California. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2010 Sep; 54(15):1234-1238
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Ohio State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting, September 27-October 1, 2010, San Francisco, California
• End Date:
  20120831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:86cd85ef1842e7852053afef9dba9141472a5667739b5da47b3444659fe772a43b430bbfd5591266a9d48ecca1c2b5e75469d7243d6d26680176e7b49860e1ed
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214349/cdc_214349_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 273.27 KB ]