Incidence of low back injuries as a function of patient lifting frequency in a major medical center.
Authors
Stobbe TJ; Plummer RW
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Task Order 85-42050, 1986 Jan; :1-19
Link
NIOSHTIC No.
00174885
Abstract
A retrospective study was carried out to examine the possible relationship between frequency of patient lifting and the occurrence of back injuries in health care personnel. This study, conducted in a 770 bed medical center, involved interviewing nursing supervisors and head nurses as to the average frequency of patient lifting per shift for each of three job classifications, Licensed Practical Nurses, Nurses' Aides, and Attendants, and then grouping these personnel into one of two patient lifting categories: high lifting frequency (an average of more than five patient lifts per shift) and low lifting frequency (an average of less than three lifts per shift). Information on reported back injuries was obtained from personnel and accident records. The relationship between frequency of patient lifting and reported back injuries was tested using Chi square statistics, total incidence density analysis, logistic modeling, and survival distribution analysis. Both the logistic analysis and the survival distribution analysis provided a statistically significant association between lifting frequency and back injury reporting frequency. Although the Attendants had the highest incidence densities in both patient lifting categories, the differences were not statistically significant. The authors conclude that the risk of back injury appears to be a function of the number of patient lifts performed.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.