Assessing the Ergonomic Design of a New Back Table for Perioperative Nurses

Abstract

Operating Rooms can be complex and stressful, wherein personnel are required to perform a variety of physically demanding tasks. Among the nursing care, perioperative nurses are more susceptible to musculoskeletal discomfort in low-back, shoulder and neck as they are required to perform an extensive number of demanding tasks before, during and after surgery on the “back table”. To improve the performance and mitigate the risk of injury in perioperative nurses, a new ergonomic design of back table has been developed recently. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficiency of the new table in improving the performance of nurses and reducing their risk of injury in comparison with the traditional table. The study involved 8 participants (4 Male, 4 Female) who performed simulated tasks of lifting/holding/lowering on both tables and finding instruments, similar to the actual work done by perioperative nurses. Our results showed that using the new table, the shoulder moment was reduced by 12%, while based on NASA-TLX scale, mental demand (14%), physical demand (20%), frustration (12%), effort (18%), and performance (15%) all showed reduced values. The outcomes of this study may facilitate reduction in risk of injury in the healthcare domain and may also be beneficial in improving the design of tables, not only in operating rooms but also in industrial environments.