Manual patient transfers: factors that influence decisions and kinematic strategies employed by nursing aides

Caring for those who care: key challenges and improvement opportunities for health professionals working with children with disabilities

This paper investigates the challenges faced by health professionals working with children with disabilities, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement. Employing a focus group method, the study involved knowledge levelling, discussions, problematization, cause formulation, and validation. A diverse team of ten professionals participated, including physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, nursing technicians, and social workers. Findings reveal organisational inflexibility in appointment scheduling, lack of deadlines affecting case monitoring, and the mental strain of immediate clinical responses. Effective communication and multidisciplinary care emerge as beneficial. Proposed improvements include flexible space utilisation, enhanced room design, structured collaboration training, role clarification, parent partnerships, flexible scheduling, and continuous professional development. This study unveils unique challenges and rewards in the healthcare environment, offering insights into causative factors and practical strategies for enhancing the work of health professionals working with children with disabilities.

The differences between normal and obese patient handling: re- structural analysis of two questionnaires

BACKGROUND

Precise causes of musculoskeletal complaints among nurses are not known well, but many studies have pointed to manual patient handling tasks. Subjective judgment and decision-making process for patient lifting is crucial for gathering data regards patient handling. The aim of this study was to consider reliability and validity and re-structure of two special tools for patient handling's tasks.

METHODS

In this cross- sectional study 249 nurses were fully participated. As recommended by literature for cultural adaptation of instruments, forward/backward translation method was applied. Reliability of the translated version was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Validity testing for the two scales was based on content validity index/ratio analysis and also Exploratory Factor Analysis was run to extract latent factors.

RESULTS

Reliability estimated by internal consistency reached a Cronbach's Alpha of above 0.7 for all subscales of two questionnaires. After testing the validity, the final version of questionnaires was remained by 14 and 15 questions respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These instruments evaluated for manual handling of normal and obese patients had acceptable validity and reliability in Iranian Nursing context. So, these tools can be used in further studies with the same cultures.

Evaluation of MSOT students' didactic knowledge and practice vs. real-time performance in manual patient transfers

BACKGROUND

Due to the nature of its occupations, the healthcare industry recognizes that manually lifting, transferring, and handling patients are high-risk activities and leading factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Research studies highlight that students are not receiving adequate training in manual patient transfer.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine the procedural knowledge in patient transfer of second-year Master of Science in Occupational Therapy students and their practical skills in performing a manual patient transfer.

METHODS

This observational, cross-sectional study included 23 occupational therapy students. Students completed the transfer technique knowledge assessment and subsequently performed a real-time manual patient transfer.

RESULTS

No significant association was found between the participants' knowledge and performance in MPT (x2(2) = 0.578, p = 0.749). All students scored highly on the knowledge assessment (μ= 9.3, SD =±1.02); however, the performance on real-time manual patient transfer was moderate (μ= 11.57, SD =±3.37) for the majority of students.

CONCLUSION

A gap exists between the results of students' knowledge and practice versus real-time performance in manual patient transfer. The practical training students receive on manual patient transfers in the academic setting may not equip them with the necessary skills and techniques to perform safe transfers.