ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Physical exposure during patient transfer and risk of back injury & low-back pain: prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Organisational-level risk and health-promoting factors within the healthcare sector-a systematic search and review.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Perceived health, musculoskeletal disorders, work conditions and safety climate in relation to patient handling and movement - a multicentre cross-sectional study at healthcare workplaces.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Trial
- Development of the low back health awareness in patient transfer scale for operating room and intensive care unit staff and evaluation of factors associated with low back pain.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Work-Related Fear-Avoidance Beliefs and Risk of Low-Back Pain: Prospective Cohort Study Among Healthcare Workers.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Occupational injuries, mental workload and coping strategies among the nursing workforce in the Eastern Region of Ghana: a multi-centre study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Risk assessment of healthcare workers' exposure to physical load in relation to patient handling and movement: a feasibility study of the instrument TilThermometer.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Ergonomic challenges in healthcare: mapping physical load during patient transfers using electromyographic field measurements.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Effects of consecutive workdays and days off on low back pain, fatigue and stress: prospective cohort study among warehouse and construction workers.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2023Article
- Duration and intensity of occupational lifting and risk of long-term sickness absence: Prospective cohort study with register follow-up among 45 000 workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Development of an Evaluation System for Transfer Care Skills Using Embroidered Body Pressure and Proximity Sensor.IEEE journal of translational engineering in health and medicine · 2023Article
- Are resident handlings in eldercare wards associated with musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence among the workers? A prospective study based on onsite observations.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Article
- Musculoskeletal pain intensity in different body regions and risk of disability pension among female eldercare workers: prospective cohort study with 11-year register follow-up.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- The Psychosocial Work Environment and Perceived Stress among Seniors with Physically Demanding Jobs: The SeniorWorkingLife Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Combined ergonomic exposures and development of musculoskeletal pain in the general working population: A prospective cohort study.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among healthcare workers. Because frequent patient transfer has been associated with increased risk of MSDs, we aim to quantify the physical load associated with commonly-used assistive devices and to investigate associations between accumulated physical exposure and risk of MSDs.
methodsBy applying an exposure matrix based on objective measurements of electromyography and trunk flexion on a large (n = 1285) prospective cohort, intensity of low-back pain (LBP) and odds of back injury at 1-year follow-up were modelled using linear models and logistic regressions, respectively. The cohort was divided into groups according to physical exposure; i.e. low (1st quartile), moderate (2nd and 3rd quartiles) and high (4th quartile) exposure.
resultsExposure profiles are provided for 9 groups of assistive devices, with ceiling lifts and intelligent beds eliciting the lowest physical exposure. In the fully-adjusted model, we report differences in LBP intensity at follow-up between the low and moderate exposure groups (p = 0.0085). No difference was found between the moderate and high exposure groups (p = 0.2967). Likewise, we find no associations between physical exposure and odds of back injury at 1-year follow-up, with a prevalence of 11, 13 and 11% for the three groups, respectively.
conclusionsLow physical exposure during patient transfer was prospectively associated with lower intensity of LBP. Consistent use of assistive devices associated with low physical exposure, namely ceiling-lifts and intelligent beds, may play a role in reducing the incidence of MSDs among healthcare workers.
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Registered trials
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