THE EFFECTS OF AN ERGONOMIC-EDUCATIONAL COURSE - POSTURAL LOAD, PERCEIVED PHYSICAL EXERTION, AND BIOMECHANICAL ERRORS IN NURSING

Objectives: To evaluate the results of an ergonomic-educational course for nurses we assessed the number and percentage of harmful postures and of ergonomic and biomechanical errors made before and after the co urse. We also studied the perceived physical exertion. Means and metho ds: In all, 12 nurses who had participated in the course (trainees) an d 12 who had not (controls) were recorded on video while performing st andardized nursing tasks. The wards from which the two groups of nurse s came were comparable, as were the patient populations. The nurses we re also comparable in some personal characteristics. The tasks they pe rformed included washing, lifting, and repositioning a patient as well as certain tasks other than patient handling. Video recordings were m ade once before (1-2 weeks) and twice after the course (after 3 months and after 15 months). The harmful postures, the errors made, and the ratings of perceived exertion were measured by means of the Ovako Work ing-posture Analysis System (OWAS), a checklist, and Borg scores, resp ectively. Results: When the first and last measurements of all the abo ve tasks taken as a whole were analyzed the trainees showed a signific ant improvement in the number and percentage of harmful postures and e rrors, whereas the controls did not. The same could be concluded for l ifting alone. After the course the new work routine did not appear to have caused any extra perceived physical exertion. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the course was successful, although it should be car efully investigated as to whether nurses remain capable of working saf ely in daily practice. The work pressure that nurses experience during their normal duties could prevent them from working safely during eve ryday work.