Impact of California's safe patient handling legislation on musculoskeletal injury prevention among nurses

Abstract

Background: This study evaluated the impact of California's safe patient handling (SPH) legislation on musculoskeletal injury prevention among hospital nurses. Methods: Two serial cross-sectional surveys were conducted using postal and online questionnaires in statewide random samples of California registered nurses in 2013 and 2016. Analysis included hospital nurses who performed patient handling (n = 254 and n = 281, respectively). Results: In 2016, there were significant improvements in nurses’ knowledge of a SPH policy in their hospital (87%), receipt of annual SPH training (73%), and availability of lift equipment (80%); 33% perceived their hospital's SPH programs as excellent or very good. Significant prevalence reduction was observed for work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (61% vs 52%; Adjusted Prevalence Ratio = 0.78, 95% CI 0.66-0.91). Conclusions: Our findings indicate the significant role of SPH legislation with positive impacts on SPH policies and programs at the hospital level and on musculoskeletal health outcomes at the worker level.