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

• Published in: Workplace health & safety 2015-06, Vol.63 (6), p.267-275
• Main Authors: Aslam, Imran, Davis, Scott A., Feldman, Steven R., Martin, Willis E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Health Personnel - education; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Moving and Lifting Patients - instrumentation; Moving and Lifting Patients - methods; Musculoskeletal Diseases - prevention & control; Nursing; Nursing - methods; Occupational Health - standards; Occupational Injuries - prevention & control
• ISSN: 2165-0799; 2165-0969
• DOI: 10.1177/2165079915580038

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.