A Review of Patient Lifting Interventions to Reduce Health Care Worker Injuries

Publié le 04 septembre 2015 • Catégorie(s) : Troubles musculo-squelettiques • Mot(s) clef(s) : manipulation du patient

Auteur    Imran Aslam
Auteur    Scott A. Davis
Auteur    Steven R. Feldman
Auteur    Willis E. Martin
Volume    63
Numéro    6
Pages    267-275
Publication    Workplace Health & Safety
ISSN    2165-0799
Date    Jun 2015
Résumé    Health care workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders at a significantly higher rate than workers in other industries. Consequently, a growing demand for patient handling devices to reduce worker injury has evolved. This article reviews the literature regarding interventions designed to reduce injuries among health care workers. A PubMed search was conducted using the terms « occupational health [Mesh Terms] patient lifting. » Fourteen articles were identified that assessed interventions to improve worker safety. Of the 14 articles, 7 discussed technological interventions, 4 educational approaches, and 3 policy change. All three types of interventions were generally effective at improving worker safety, with the ideal intervention consisting of elements of all three types. Although adopting a new intervention may be expensive, the reduction in workers’ compensation costs associated with injured nurses can easily outweigh the costs of interventions.