As the number of manual handling injuries in carers and nurses continu
es to be very high, the problem of how to prevent injury has not been
solved. Despite the obvious need for optimum working environments, the
literature does not really support that an ergonomics or systems appr
oach solves the injury problem. Similarly, the evidence for training a
s a preventive strategy is equivocal, although clearly people handling
requires trained handlers for both their own and the patient's safety
. This research aimed to evaluate the outcomes of training in a method
of manual handling of people, Dotte's Manutention method, which claim
s to decrease back strain and effort in carers. The study evaluated ha
ndling techniques and injury outcomes of a group of nurses in a nursin
g home trained in this method, using two other homes as comparisons. T
he study hypothesized that training in the Manutention method would de
crease back strain and resultant back injuries in nurses working in ge
riatric care. The results showed a clear pattern of declining incidenc
e of nurses' back pain for the nurses trained in Manutention and incre
asing incidence in the other two homes. These findings approached sign
ificance with a probability of < 0.1. Of those respondents who indicat
ed a decrease in pain during the twelve month research period, all att
ributed it to their training. Ninety four percent of respondents who r
eceived training agreed it made their manual handling job easier. The
observation method used was not sensitive enough to evaluate the multi
ple movements involved in a patient transfer. A supplementary controll
ed study was performed using videotaping and the Ovako Working Assessm
ent System (OWAS). Manutention lifts were rated significantly better t
han non-Manutention on the critical variable of working posture (p < 0
.01) and observed effort (p < 0.05). Accident statistics on patient ha
ndling did not show decreased injury rates at twelve months. The diffi
culties of controlling variables in the workplace and of the measureme
nt of complex handling tasks were limitations of this study. (C) 1997
Elsevier Science Ltd.