PHYSICAL WORK LOAD AND ITS ASSESSMENT AMONG THE NURSING STAFF IN NURSING-HOMES

A study was conducted to investigate the physical work load and the pr evalence of musculoskeletal complaints of nurses in nursing homes. Thi rty-six female subjects selected from three nursing homes in the Nethe rlands participated in an observational study. In addition, the total nursing staff (n = 668) was invited to take part in a questionnaire su rvey (response was 94%). It was noticed that almost 60% of the observe d time was spent on nonpatient-related activities. Moreover, activitie s alternated rapidly and seldom lasted longer than 4 minutes on averag e. Twenty percent of the observed time was spent in ''poor'' work post ures as defined by the Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System (Action Category 2 to 4). Activities contributing most to these poor work post ures were patient care and household and preliminary tasks. Perceived exertion as scored on the Borg-CR10 scale was highest during patient-r elated activities. This holds also for a relative increase of heart ra te. Questionnaire results showed prevalences of 41%, 35%, and 20% resp ectively, for back, arm/neck, and leg complaints. From this study it c an be concluded that not only patient-related activities should be tak en into consideration for the improvement of work postures and other p otential strenuous aspects of nursing work. Household and preliminary tasks, ergonomic layout of the ward and work pressure also deserve att ention.