National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Safe Patient Handling Training for Schools of Nursing National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

In the field of nursing, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as back and shoulder injuries, persist as the leading and most costly U. S. occupational health problem. A large body of evidence indicates that a substantial number of work-related MSDs reported by nurses are due to the cumulative effect of repeated manual patient-handling activities and work done in extreme static awkward postures. In a list of at-risk occupations for musculoskeletal disorders in 2007, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ranked first in incidence rate with a case rate of 252 cases per 10,000 workers, a rate seven times the national MSD average for all occupations. Emergency medical personnel ranked second, followed by laborers and material movers, ticket agents and travel clerks, and light and heavy truck drivers among the top six at-risk occupations [Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2009]. The nursing occupation also typically ranks in the top ten in yearly incidence rate of sprain and strain injuries. In most industries MSD injury rates have declined in recent years, yet MSD rates for nurses in the healthcare industry have not declined during the same period. Healthcare units at high risk for back and other injuries to caregivers have certain characteristics: History of frequent injuries, High proportion of dependent patients, Lack of use of lifting equipment in good repair, Low staffing levels. More than 30 years of evidence has demonstrated that manual patient handling and relying on body mechanics is unsafe. Furthermore, this evidence indicates that adoption of safe patient handling (SPH) techniques, where nurses use assistive equipment during transfers, is effective in reducing the incidence of MSDs related to the handling of patients.