Determining the Efficiency of Ergonomic Belt During Patient Handling and its Effect on Reducing Musculoskeletal Disorders in Nurses

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing personnel are always at risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, and patient transportation is one of the major risk factor for these disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ergonomic belt to improve patient transferring conditions. Methods: The subjects included 60 health care workers (HCW) of a hospital with patient transfer experience. The ergonomic belt was examined to help move the patient from one bed to another. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was assessed through the Nordic questionnaire, the degree of perceived exertion through the Borg criterion, and the patient's movement through the MAPO index before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed a significant decrease in Borg scale scores and MAPO index in two factors of education and auxiliary tools and overall scores of this index. We also saw a significant reduction in musculoskeletal disorders in the neck, shoulders and arms, waist, hands and wrists, thighs, knees and legs. There were no significant differences in the elbow and forearm before and after using the ergonomic belt. Conclusion: In general, it can be concluded that the use of ergonomic belt had helped to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, as well as reducing the perceived exertion of nurses and other relevant personnel.