A Taxonomy of the Common Tasks and the Development of a Risk Index for Physical Load Assessment in Nursing Job

Abstract

Background Nursing service is a nonroutine work with an excessive physical load and diverse tasks. This study derived representative common tasks based on the frequently occurring tasks with a high physical load in the nursing workers' daily work and developed indicators to evaluate the work risk by reflecting the characteristics of nonroutine work. Methods Common tasks were classified through the following stages: literature review, first focus group interview (FGI) with experts, first classification of common tasks, second FGI with hospital health managers, a survey of nursing service workers, and the final classification of common tasks for each task type. To develop an objective risk index for physical load assessment, we investigated the frequency and duration of the derived common tasks via survey. Results Nursing common tasks were categorized into six task types and 56 subtasks. To evaluate the risks of various tasks in nonroutine works, three frequencies and three working time levels were defined by examining the task frequency and working hours. Exposure time was defined to reflect the characteristics of a nonroutine job. The final risk assessment was the product of the exposure time level and job intensity level. From this, four risk action levels were derived. Conclusion This study has the advantage of solving the problem of focusing on some tasks in evaluating the physical load. It was meaningful in that a new risk assessment index based on exposure time was proposed based on the development of an evaluation scale for frequency and time by reflecting the characteristics of nonroutine work.

Investigating Transportation Needs in Clinical Nursing – Observational Task Assessment in Rural Clinics

“…Our findings corroborate with prior research, identifying various clinical transport tasks, including medical supplies, non-medical equipment, patients, and medical waste [23,34,35]. We've further identified transport categories, such as distributing food and drinks, which aren't widely discussed in the existing literature.…”

“…In conclusion, as depicted in Table 1, clinical transportation is multifaceted, marked by diverse requirements that complicate the study of transportation needs in clinics [35]. Existing studies, non-comparable and small populations, present varying results [22,24].…”

“…Nevertheless, transporting medical goods and patients, are integral to the efficient execution of clinical nursing practices [12,32,33]. As per the studies by Fiedler et al [23], Kriner et al [34], Ryoo et al [35] and Lim et al [25] certain categories of goods-namely medical supplies, non-medical equipment, patients, and medical waste are transported more frequently.…”

“…Rosenberg et al [24], Blay et al [31], and Roche et al [29] underscore the importance of patient transfers, characterizing them as demanding, vital, and time-intensive aspects of nursing. Ryoo et al [35] pointed out that manually handled patient transfers occur frequently and may be a health risk.…”

Analysis of Employee Work Posture and Physical Workload Using del Riesgo Individual Evalution and Cardio-Vascular Load Methods

“…Physical workload is caused by excessive physical activity using the body's muscle strength. Excessive physical workload causes fatigue in workers [8].…”