ERGONOMIC EVALUATION OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES AND MANUAL METHODS FOR RESIDENT-HANDLING TASKS IN NURSING HOMES (BACK INJURY, LIFTING).
Contributors: West Virginia University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 413
Subjects: Engineering, Industrial.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety.
Description: Resident-handling tasks have been identified as the primary cause of back injury among nursing professionals. The objective of this study was to evaluate resident-handling procedures to determine which procedures resulted in less biomechanical and/or psychophysical stresses to those personnel performing resident-handling tasks.

The objective was accomplished through an ergonomic evaluation of different assistive devices and manual methods for performing two resident-handling tasks that place nursing personnel in nursing homes at a high risk of back injury--transferring residents from bed to a chair and lifting residents up in bed. Twelve assistive devices and two manual methods were evaluated in this laboratory study to determine the stress experienced by nursing personnel when using these devices/methods.

Nine nursing assistants were recruited from local nursing homes to serve as test subjects. All performed the particular task to be evaluated using each of the selected methods in a laboratory. Two elderly persons were recruited to participate in this study and are identified therein as residents.

The compressive force on the L5/S1 disc of nursing personnel during the two resident-handling tasks and the percentage of the population with sufficient strength to adequately perform the tasks were estimated using a biomechanical model. Physical stress, as perceived by the nursing assistants, was measured subjectively using a psychophysical scale. The ease of using the devices was also rated by the nursing assistants on a five-point Likert scale. The comfort and security factor was also rated by the residents on a five point-Likert scale. The nursing assistants were also asked for their preference of the devices.

The psychophysical and Likert scale ratings revealed significant differences between the various resident-handling methods. The biomechanical measures indicated that transfers made with the assistive devices resulted in significantly less physical stress than did manual transfers. It was determined in this study that the assistive devices were generally favored by both nursing assistants and residents as opposed to manual lifting. Each assistive device was found to have design conditions which could be changed to improve the device's functional utility.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4519.

Thesis (PH.D.)--WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0256.