title: [Load on the low back of care workers in nursing homes for the elderly].
abstract: In order to evaluate the load on the low back of care workers in nursing homes for the elderly, basic activities and working postures were analyzed for six care workers using the 30-s snap reading method. The trunk inclination angle (TIA) was also measured continuously using an inclination monitor. The analysis of basic activities showed that 22.5% and 21.1% of the workshift were spent on 'bathing and ablution' and 'meal', respectively, and 9.3%, 8.7% and 8.3% were spent on 'assistance with elimination', 'assistance with moving and repositioning' and 'exchange of bed sheet', respectively. Total of the assistance activity was 43.7% of the workshift. The analysis of working posture showed that 'standing' and 'standing bent forward' accounted for 36.1% and 29.5%, respectively, of the workshift. Total of three postures loading the low back ('standing bent forward', 'squatting', 'kneeling') accounted for 39.0%. The time spent in TIA of 20 degrees or more was 45.7%. The postures loading the low back during 'bathing and ablution', 'exchange of bed sheet' and 'assistance with elimination' account for 68.3%, 58.2% and 49.6%, respectively, which suggests that these activities load the low back of the care workers considerably.
authors.affiliation: Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, 1-3-69 Nakamichi, Higashinari-ku, Osaka 537-0025, Japan. kumagai@iph.pref.osaka.jp
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.forename: Hidetsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tainaka
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyajima
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyano
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tabuchi
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akasaka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Kimiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomioka
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001415:Back / Q000502:physiology*; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011187:Posture; D016526:Workload