Nursing lift injury
For many years, hospital workers have led claims of lift-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), nearly double the national average for all other work sectors.1 While many factors contribute to the high incidence of MSD in healthcare, two of the highest risk factors include patient obesity and immobility.
According to a recent analysis of hospital inpatients, 65% of patients admitted to the hospital are overweight or obese.2 It is reasonable to conclude that a significant number of patients in the ICU are overweight or obese, and likely immobile due to the condition that caused their hospital admission. As a result, critical care nurses are at significant risk for MSD, and the effects of these injuries often have long-term impact. “MSDs are responsible for more lost work time, more long-term medical care needs, and more permanent disabilities than any other work-related injury.”3
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states “hospitals are still not employing enough assistive devices to help move patients, and that is a major reason why healthcare workers have one of the highest rates of musculoskeletal injuries in the U.S.”1 One way the American Nurses Association is taking action to reduce nurses’ risk for MSD is through Safe Patient Handling and Mobility programs and advocacy, with a goal of completely eliminating manual patient handling.3
Nursing care in Pronova-O2
Turn Medical has developed the Pronova-O2 Automated Prone Therapy System to help reduce lift injury and MSD risk to healthcare staff caring for patients requiring the prone position. Pronova-O2 provides a safe and efficient way for nurses to provide prone positioning for patients weighing up to 400 pounds.
INQUIRE NOW to a request a demo for your facility! For additional information on automated prone positioning, please visit turnmedical.com or call 1-855-275-8876.
References
- Palmer, J. (2018, September 11). Lifting patients puts nurses at risk: Have you tried these alternatives? Healthleaders. Retrieved December 8, 2021 from https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/lifting-patients-puts-nurses-risk-have-you-tried-these-alternatives
- Hossain, M. A., Amin, A., Paul, A., Qaisar, H., Akula, M., Amirpour, A., Gor, S., Giglio, S., Cheng, J., Mathew, R., Vachharajani, T., Bakr, M., & Asif, A. (2018). Recognizing Obesity in Adult Hospitalized Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study Assessing Rates of Documentation and Prevalence of Obesity. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(8), 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm7080203
- American Nurses Association. Handle with Care. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/work-environment/health-safety/handle-with-care/
