title: Lifting and exertion injuries decrease after implementation of an integrated hospital-wide safe patient handling and mobilisation programme.
abstract: With increasing emphasis on early and frequent mobilisation of patients in acute care, safe patient handling and mobilisation practices need to be integrated into these quality initiatives. We completed a programme evaluation of a safe patient handling and mobilisation programme within the context of a hospital-wide patient care improvement initiative that utilised a systems approach and integrated safe patient equipment and practices into patient care plans.
  
  
  
  Baseline and 12-month follow-up surveys of 1832 direct patient care workers assessed work practices and self-reported pain while an integrated employee payroll and injury database provided recordable injury rates collected concurrently at 2 hospitals: the study hospital with the programme and a comparison hospital.
  
  
  
  Safe and unsafe patient handling practice scales at the study hospital improved significantly (p<0.0001 and p=0.0031, respectively), with no differences observed at the comparison hospital. We observed significant decreases in recordable neck and shoulder (Relative Risk (RR)=0.68, 95% CI 0.46 to 1.00), lifting and exertion (RR=0.73, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.89) and pain and inflammation (RR=0.78, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.00) injury rates at the study hospital. Changes in rates at the comparison hospital were not statistically significant.
  
  
  
  Within the context of a patient mobilisation initiative, a safe patient handling and mobilisation programme was associated with improved work practices and a reduction in recordable worker injuries. This study demonstrates the potential impact of utilising a systems approach based on recommended best practices, including integration of these practices into the patient's plan for care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Environmental Health and The Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Jack T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Dennerlein
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health Services, Partners HealthCare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Tucker
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: O'Day
authors.affiliation: Center for Nursing Excellence, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Mulloy
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services Center for Nursing Excellence, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Somerville
authors.affiliation: Center of Community Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.affiliation: New England Research Institutes, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kenwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health and The Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Teeple
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie I
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9779-207X
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.affiliation: Center of Community Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences Health and The Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Glorian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sorensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health Services, Partners HealthCare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Boston College Law School, Newton Centre, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055805:Moving and Lifting Patients / Q000379:methods*; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000293:injuries; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005082:Physical Exertion; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*