Effects of patient transfer devices on the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of patient transfer assistive devices in reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among nurses. Methods. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched to identify studies with a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of patient transfer assistive devices on the incidence and injury claims of WMSDs as compared to the manual lifting of patients. A health impact analysis of the pre–post intervention of assistive device implementation was performed. The percentage of the reduction of forces, incidence of WMSDs, number of missed workdays and injury compensation claims were calculated, pooled and presented as boxplots. Results. A total of 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. The best post-intervention outcomes of assistive devices deployment in the healthcare setting included a reduction in WMSD incidence by 59.8%, missed workdays by 90.0% and workers’ compensation claims by 95.0%. Additionally, hand force declined by 71% (p < 0.05) and 70% (p < 0.05) with the use of air-assisted devices and ceiling lifts respectively. Conclusions. Overall, the evidence suggests that patient transfer assistive devices, notably ceiling lifts and air-assisted devices, are effective in reducing the risk of WMSDs among nurses.

KEYWORDS:

• assistive device
• patient transfer
• nurse
• work-related musculoskeletal disorders
• lateral transfer
• vertical lifting
• ergonomics assessments

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. The funders had no role in the design or writing of the manuscript.

Note: HR = Hill-Rom Progressa® Pulmonary Surface; SI = Stryker Isolibrium® Support Surface.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Freedom Med International Sdn. Bhd. and Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science & Technology Center (CREST) [grant number CREST/R&D/T11C2-18/006]; Universiti Sains Malaysia [grant number 304 /PMEKANIK /6050413 /C121].