Experimental and longitudinal studies on the impact of lifting device use on the occurrence of back pain among nursing personnel
| Author | Study design | Study population | Intervention | Uptake of intervention | Measure of effect | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schoenfisch et al9 | Interrupted time series (13 years) | 11545 caregivers (hospital 1: 83%, hospital 2: 17%) | Lifting and handling equipment | Availability of at least one portable lift per unit between 63% and 100% over time | MSD injury claims per 100 full-time workers per year | Hospital 1: 0% decrease, rate last year=3 per 100 Hospital 2: 44% decrease, rate last year=4.8 per 100 |
| Evanoff et al23 | Pre–post design (follow-up 2–3 years) | 36 nursing units in hospital and nursing homes | Full-body and stand-up lifts and instructional courses | 20% use of mechanical lifts in previous shift | Patient-handling MSD injury claims per 100 full-time workers per year | Lift use: 6.3 to 5.5 Non-lift use: 6.3 to 6.7 |
| Garg and Kapellusch24 | Pre–post design (follow-up 36–60 months) | 853 nursing staff in 7 long-term care facilities and hospital | Integral programme with no-manual lifting policy | Availability of at least one total-lift hoist and one sit-stand hoist per unit with a maximum of 8 patients | Patient-handling MSD injury claims per 100 full-time workers per year | 24.4 to 9.8 |
| Knibbe and Friele25 | Pre–post design with control group (1 year) | Home care INT: 139 nurses CON: 239 nurses | Integral programme including 40 patient hoists | Manual transfers per nurse per week INT: 35.0 to 21.3 CON: 23.5 to 23.8 Hoist use per nurse per week INT: 25% to 57% CON: 28% to 28% | LBP in past 12 months | INT: decrease 74% to 64% (p<0.05) CON: increase 62% to 66% |
| Nelson et al26 | Pre–post (follow-up 9 months) | 825 nursing staff in 7 home care facilities and hospitals | Integral programme including lifting and other devices | Unsafe patient handling per day Pre to post 14% decrease (p=0.03) | Patient-handling MSD injury claims per 100 full-time workers per year | Decrease 24.0 to 16.9 |
| Smedley et al27 | Pre–post (follow-up 32 months) | Hospital INT: 817 nurses CON: 340 nurses | Lifting and handling equipment and sliding sheets | Number of patient handling activities without mechanical aids per shift INT: 3.5 to 3.2 CON: 3.3 to 2.6 | LBP in past month | INT: 27% to 30% CON: 27% to 27% |
| Yassi et al28 | RCT (follow-up 1 year) | Hospital INT-1: 116 nurses INT-2: 127 nurses CON: 103 nurses | No strenuous lifting programme including mechanical and other transfer equipment | Number of patient handling tasks without mechanical aids per shift CON: 33 (±23) to 32 (±30) INT-1: 31 (±23) to 23 (±20) (p<0.05) INT-2: 39 (±29) to 29 (±26) (p<0.05) | Patient-handling MSD injury claims per 100 full-time workers per year | CON: 2.8 to 3.8 INT-1: 2.5 to 2.7 INT-2: 4.1 to 3.1 |
| Zadvinskis and Salsbury29 | Pre–post (follow-up 1 year) | Hospital INT: 46 nurses CON: 29 nurses | Minimal-lift policy including floor-based lift and stand-assist device | Frequency of equipment use per day (post-test only) INT: 0.8 floor-based lift, 0.6 stand-assist device CON: no use | Patient-handling MSD injury claims in 12 months | INT: 7 to 3 CON: 6 to 5 |
CON, control group; INT, intervention group; LBP, low back pain; MSD, musculoskeletal disorders; RCT, randomised controlled trial.