Honors College Senior Thesis Presentations
Minimizing Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Health Care Professionals with Education on Safe Patient Handling
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Exercise Science
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Amelia Dodd, PT, DPT
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Introduction: Nursing is a high-risk occupation for musculoskeletal injuries due to the strenuous activity of patient handling. These tasks include, assisting a patient in bed, moving a patient from the bed to a wheelchair, and assisting with walking. These work-related tasks can create a large amount of stress on the body, especially the back if proper technique is not utilized. The purpose of this study is to examine if teaching proper body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the tasks properly is an effective way of reducing musculoskeletal injuries.
Methods: The NUR 202 students were given a pretest/posttest with a presentation on the prevalence of low back pain in nurses and proper body mechanics.
Results: There was a statistically significant increase in the overall score from the pretest to the posttest, 49% to 75%.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: This shows that the students’ knowledge of body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the task properly improved. This is important as it relates to the medical community because with the proper interventions there can be a decrease in injuries, a decrease in work absences due to injuries, and a decrease in individuals leaving the profession.
Location
Waterfield Gallery
Start Date
November 2021
End Date
November 2021
Fall Scholars Week 2021 Event
Honors Senior Presentations
Minimizing Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Health Care Professionals with Education on Safe Patient Handling
Waterfield Gallery
Introduction: Nursing is a high-risk occupation for musculoskeletal injuries due to the strenuous activity of patient handling. These tasks include, assisting a patient in bed, moving a patient from the bed to a wheelchair, and assisting with walking. These work-related tasks can create a large amount of stress on the body, especially the back if proper technique is not utilized. The purpose of this study is to examine if teaching proper body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the tasks properly is an effective way of reducing musculoskeletal injuries.
Methods: The NUR 202 students were given a pretest/posttest with a presentation on the prevalence of low back pain in nurses and proper body mechanics.
Results: There was a statistically significant increase in the overall score from the pretest to the posttest, 49% to 75%.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: This shows that the students’ knowledge of body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the task properly improved. This is important as it relates to the medical community because with the proper interventions there can be a decrease in injuries, a decrease in work absences due to injuries, and a decrease in individuals leaving the profession.