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

<i>Objectives</i>. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of patient transfer assistive devices in reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among nurses. <i>Methods.</i> 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. <i>Results</i>. 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% (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) and 70% (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) with the use of air-assisted devices and ceiling lifts respectively. <i>Conclusions</i>. 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.

研究目的。本研究旨在评估患者转运辅助装置（patient transfer assistive devices）降低护士职业性肌肉骨骼疾患（work-related musculoskeletal disorders, WMSDs）发病风险的有效性。研究方法。本研究检索了PubMed、Scopus、Google Scholar及Cochrane系统评价数据库（Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews），以筛选出对比患者转运辅助装置与徒手搬运患者的相关研究，此类研究需对患者转运辅助装置在职业性肌肉骨骼疾患发病率及工伤索赔方面的有效性开展定量评估。此外，本研究对实施辅助装置的干预前后进行了健康影响分析，并对力量降幅、职业性肌肉骨骼疾患发病率、缺勤天数及工伤赔偿申请数等指标进行计算、合并分析，以箱线图呈现结果。研究结果。共计25项研究符合纳入标准。医疗场景中部署辅助装置后的最佳干预结局包括：职业性肌肉骨骼疾患发病率降低59.8%，缺勤天数减少90.0%，工伤赔偿申请减少95.0%。此外，使用空气辅助装置（air-assisted devices）与吊顶移位机（ceiling lifts）分别可使手部力量下降71%（p < 0.05）与70%（p < 0.05）。研究结论。总体而言，现有证据表明，患者转运辅助装置——尤其是吊顶移位机与空气辅助装置——可有效降低护士罹患职业性肌肉骨骼疾患的风险。