Use of Assistive Devices to Lift, Transfer, and Reposition Hospital Patients

Details

• Personal Author:
  Avent S ; Becherer L ; James T ; Kucera KL ; Lipscomb HJ ; McIlvaine J ; Schoenfisch AL
• Description:
  Background: Devices to lift, transfer, and reposition patients are recommended for healthcare workers' and patients' safety, but their intended use has yet to be fully realized. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe hospital nursing staff use of lift/transfer devices and the presence of factors at the time of lifts/transfers with potential to influence whether devices are used. Methods: Participants were 108 US nursing staff in a university-based medical center and two community hospitals. A self-completed questionnaire was used to collect demographic and work characteristics, typical frequency of patient lifts/transfers, training in and typical use of lift equipment, and specific factors that could influence use. Proportional distributions of lifting/transferring and repositioning frequencies in a typical shift, amount of equipment use, and factors present were examined overall and across worker and work-related characteristics. Results: Although trained in equipment use, only 40% used equipment for at least half of lifts/transfers. During lifts/transfers, factors often present included patient unable to help with lift/transfer (91.3%) or of a size/weight where participant needed assistance to help lift/transfer (87.5%); availability of others who could assist with manual lift (86.3%) or use of lift equipment (82.4%); and equipment functioning properly (86.4%), having supplies available (82.5%), and being easy to retrieve from storage (81.6%). During repositioning tasks, physical assistance was "always/almost always" provided from coworkers (83.3%) and often perceived as "very helpful" (92.6%) in reducing physical demands. Physical assistance from patients was less common (14.0% "always/almost always") yet perceived as "very helpful" by 66.3%. One fifth always used friction-reducing devices. Discussion: Despite training in their use, nursing staff use of available lift equipment and assistive devices is limited. Factors present at the time of lifts/transfers that may influence equipment/device use reflect a complex mix of patient, worker, equipment, and situational characteristics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Hospitals Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cross-sectional Health Care Workers Hospital Equipment Lift Equipment Lifting Nurses Nursing Patient Handling Patient Lifting Patient Repositioning
• ISSN:
  0029-6562
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3-12
• Volume:
  68
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054526
• Citation:
  Nurs Res 2019 Jan-Feb; 68(1):3-12
• Contact Point Address:
  Ashley L. Schoenfisch, Duke University School of Nursing, 307 Trent Drive, Box 3322, Durham, NC 27710
• Email:
  ashley.schoenfisch@duke.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20140901
• Source Full Name:
  Nursing Research
• End Date:
  20180228
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7baca79cfda7fc69849e247d1aa19714cc35dd84c71db2dd3057b9093d10873b3f15061fec97bea2bb86ed4f57ac2d7d1e5a223cc3eeae9cc808077d4bcdb6d9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217057/cdc_217057_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 453.00 KB ]