Manual moving of patients and nursing staff

Over the last decades, patients’ manual handling by nurse without specific help has been established as an easy choice not only in our country but also worldwide, tending to become one of the major causes of health problems in nursing staff. Aim: The purpose of the present study was the review of the literature on modern aspects that prevail worldwide regarding the method of manual moving and handling of patients by health professionals. The method οf this study included bibliography research from both the review and the research literature which referred to the methods of manual moving and handling of patients by health professionals, as well as, to the application of a new approach, which will significantly contribute to the improvement of their task performance and to better health of nurses. Results: The majority of research studies showed that the main cause for musculoskeletal diseases is the manual moving of patients. Although, various methods have been used to control and eliminate these problems, especially due to manual moving, the application of them has not been proved able to reduce musculoskeletal diseases. Moreover, the results of the present review showed that the incorrect way of manual handling is positively related to the cause of musculoskeletal problems to nurses. The policy of abolishing manual moving has been evolved during recent years in Europe and America as well as organizing and applying systems based on a various factors, in order to reduce nurses’ musculoskeletal diseases. Conclusions: The present review confirms that nurses’ information – education on the recent facts of patients’ manual transport, as well as the application of common protocols and algorithms among various organizations, will significantly contribute to the solution of the problem.

Keywords: Musculoskeletal diseases, manual moving, information, non-moving policy, multifactor systems