title: Perceived exertion during patient lifts. An evaluation of the importance of various factors for the subjective strain during lifting and carrying of patients. A study at a geriatric hospital.
abstract: Model experiments and practical studies of patient lifts were carried out with the aim of finding a method for assessing perceived exertion during various types of patient lifts. In the model experiments perceived exertion was rated on the RPE (Borg) scale under standardized conditions with variation of the subject's working posture and the load to be lifted. A strong correlation was found between increased perceived exertion and an un-optimal posture and heavy load respectively. In the practical study of patient lifts the following eight variables were rated: posture, acceleration, the patient's weight, time needed for the lift, the load, patient cooperation, the moment about the fulcrum and the possibilities of getting a good hold. The subjects were asked to rate the perceived exertion on the RPE scale. Six common types of patient lifts were studied. By multiple regression analysis the different variables were analysed in relation to perceived exertion. Strong correlations were found between different variables and perceived exertion, with some variation between the different types of patient lifts. The perceived exertion in various types of patient lifts can therefore be characterized by a small number of variables (the most strongly correlated). By choosing the most characteristic variables for each patient lift, the method can be utilized to study changes in the perceived exertion for different types of patient lifts when the external conditions during the lift are changed.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D005082:Physical Exertion; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011187:Posture; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods*