Healthcare Ergonomics

Case Study: A prospective study about how diseases are controlled and spread was conducted in two units (140 beds and 57 nursing assistants) of a nursing home to demonstrate the efficacy of ergonomics in reducing back stress to nursing personnel. The total program involved determining the patient-handling tasks that the nursing assistants (NAs) perceived to be most stressful; performing an ergonomic evaluation of these tasks; and conducting a laboratory study to select the patient transferring devices that the NAs perceived to produce less physical stress than existing manual patient-handling methods. The intervention phase included training NAs in the use of devices, modifying toilets and shower rooms, and applying ergonomic techniques to patient care. At the completion of the intervention program, the investigators performed a post-intervention analysis. The incidence rate for back injuries prior to the intervention, which was 83 per 200,000 work-hours, decreased to 47 per 200,000 work-hours after the intervention. There were no injuries resulting in lost or restricted work days during the last four months of the post-intervention time frame.

Key Takeaways: This study illustrates that an appropriate ergonomic intervention program offers great promise in reducing physical stress and risk of low-back pain to nursing personnel.