Does Postural Feedback Reduce Musculoskeletal Risk?: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Coral Oliver Hernández, Shimeng Li, María Dolores Merino Rivera and Inmaculada Mateo Rodríguez
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Coral Oliver Hernández: Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain
Shimeng Li: Interuniversity Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences, University of Seville, 41004 Seville, Spain
María Dolores Merino Rivera: Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain
Inmaculada Mateo Rodríguez: Andalusian School of Public Health, 18080 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Background: There is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among personnel working in the healthcare sector, mainly among nursing assistants and orderlies. Objective: The objective is to analyze the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention that included postural feedback in reducing musculoskeletal risk. Method: A total of 24 nursing assistants and orderlies in a hospital setting were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. After collecting sociodemographic information, a selection of tasks was made and assessed using the REBA (rapid entire body assessment) method. A multi-component intervention was designed combining theoretical and practical training, including feedback on the postures performed by the professionals involved, especially those involving high musculoskeletal risk. This program was applied only to participants in the intervention group. Subsequently, eight months after the first assessment and intervention, the second assessment was carried out using the same method and process as in the first evaluation. Results: The results indicate that the musculoskeletal risk in the second assessment in the intervention group was significantly reduced. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: The multi-component intervention applied can significantly reduce the musculoskeletal risk of nursing assistants and orderlies. In addition, it is a low-cost intervention with great applicability.

Keywords: postural feedback; intervention program; patient handling; musculoskeletal disorders; nursing assistants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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