Patient handling through moving of the beds and stretchers

• Published in: International journal of industrial ergonomics Vol. 87; p. 103252
• Main Authors: Kotowski, Susan E., Davis, Kermit G., Marras, William S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-01-2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Clinical trials; Ergonomics; Hospitals; Injury prevention; Musculoskeletal disorders; Nurses; Nursing; Patients; Power-drive; Pushing; Spine; Stretchers; Transport; Musculoskeletal disorders; Hospitals; Ergonomics; Transport; Power-drive
• ISSN: 0169-8141; 1872-8219
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ergon.2021.103252

Transorting patients in beds and stretchers throughout hospitals is a significant manual handling concern for transport teams, nurses, and nursing aides. The objective of this study was to evaluate a power-drive intervention when pushing beds and stretchers with different weight patients. Twelve participants were part of a laboratory simulation where beds and stretchers were pushed down a straight away, around a corner, down a ramp, and up a ramp with and without utilization of the power-drive feature. Peak three-dimensional spine loads were estimated during the trials. In all, power-drive reduced the three-dimensional spine loads by 8%–21% as compared to the manual pushing of the beds and stretchers. Larger reductions were found for the tasks performed with the bed as opposed to the stretcher. The inexperience of the participants may have reduced the benefit of the power-drive as they appeared to not use it to the full extent. To minimize the loads being placed on healthcare providers’ spines and reduce the potential for injury hospitals should implement power-drive technologies on beds and stretchers.
•Power-drive for beds and stretchers was effective in reducing the three-dimensional spine loads.•More experience and training with power-drive may further increase the benefits of power-drive as inexperienced individuals seem to over push the handles to engage the mechanical mechanism.•Power-drive was more effective for more complex bed/stretcher tasks such moving around a corner, up a ramp, and down a ramp.