The Importance of Safe Patient Handling to Create a Culture of Safety: An Evidential Review

Abstract

Abstract:Manual patient handling has been linked to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in healthcare workers. It can expose the musculoskeletal (MS) system of nurses and other healthcare workers to stress, and may put patients at risk for injury, pain and negative health outcomes. Creating a culture of safety around minimising manual patient handling is therefore thought to have a positive impact in diminishing the scope of this problem. Patient mobility is also an important clinical issue, and safe patient handling (SPH) and mobility technology can be used to promote mobilisation, to improve patient independence and quality of life.There is evidence to suggest that multifactor interventions based on a risk assessment programme have the most likely chance of success in reducing risk factors associated with patient handling activities. The introduction of a structured SPH programme that pairs training with ergonomic intervention and mechanical aid use is now believed to be the most effective workplace intervention to prevent injuries relating to manual patient handling. The aim of this review is to investigate available evidence for the effectiveness of SPH programmes from the perspectives of healthcare worker safety, patient safety and cost. It is hoped that this will provide a broad view on the current state, significance and future potential of such programmes. Further, we consider what is missing from the available evidence, and how we can improve our understanding of SPH programme effectiveness in the healthcare setting.

The Effect of Interventions on Preventing Musculoskeletal Injuries Related to Nurses Work: Systematic Review

“…We corroborate that interventions should take into account not only the ergonomics but also the improvement of the organizational aspects of the work environment [ 37 ], but other aspects should be explored, such as communication with the patient to actively involve them in the procedures and promote their rehabilitation, or even involving the caregiver [ 42 ], previously planning the activity by unblocking the space around the patient’s bed, ensuring an optimization of the interaction between the health professional and the patient [ 37 ] or his caregiver [ 40 ], and the health professional and the environment [ 36 ].…”

The impact of national guidelines covering moving and handling of people on injury rates and related costs

“…Providing the healthcare sector with comprehensive information on MHP in the form of guidelines is a strategy widely applied globally, with multiple state or federal MPH guidelines existing in Europe, the US, and Australasia (4,8,9). It is assumed that this strategy may reduce MHP-related injuries and musculoskeletal disorders (10)(11)(12)(13). However, it is unclear how effective MHP guidelines are, with some studies showing reduced injury rates (14)(15)(16), and others showing no difference (17).…”