Increasing awareness about musculoskeletal injury prevention is nursing personnel

Kansas Nurse, Sep 2003 by Outlaw, Kathy

WHEREAS, The American Nurses Association (ANA) has identified musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's) as a priority work environment health and safety issue and has supported the drive for the development of an ergonomiC standard by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prevent such injuries, and

WHEREAS, ANA's/NursingWorld.org.'s On-line Health and Safety Survey in September, 2001 revealed that 60% of the 4,826 nurses surveyed listed fear of back injury as one of their top three workplace safety concerns and 88% of respondents reported that health and safety concerns influence their decision to continue working, and registered nurses rank sixth (12,100 MSDs) among all U.S. occupations in the number of musculoskeletal disorders involving days away from work (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002), and

WHEREAS, The Kansas State Nurses Association (KSNA) has identified "making the work environment supportive to the older nurse," as one of its priorities and the Economic and General Welfare Council members presenting continuing education on MSD's to the KSNA nursing population have discovered a general lack of awareness of the types and use of assistive devices that are currently on the market, or their successful implementation into the work environment, and

WHEREAS, Dramatic decreases in MSD's have been demonstrated with the appropriate use of assistive devices and design of the work environments, and

WHEREAS, by different vendors and the opportunity to try out such equipment may not available in some work environments due to system factors or the lack of vendor interest in marketing such equipment at their site, and

WHEREAS, Successful implementation of the use of assistive devices requires research on the types, design, reliability, and costs of such equipment and a positive attitude and willingness to evaluate and support the use of such devices by the front line worker, as well as administrative and purchasing staff, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, That KSNA provide an opportunity for nurses to be educated about implementation of ergonomically designed environments and equipment, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That KSNA request that nationally recognized and reliable vendors of assistive devices, such as those described in the Veterans Hospital Administration (VHA) "Safe patient Handling and Movement" research findings and literature and the new OSHA Ergonomie Guidelines for Nursing Homes, be invited to display their equipment at the state nurses convention, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That KSNA support local and national initiatives for ergonomically appropriate work environments in healthcare settings.

References:

American Nurses Association. ANA/NursingWorld.org On-line Health and Safety Survey, 2001. hup://nursingworld.org/surveys/hssurvey.htm.

Department of Veterans Affairs. VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry weh site, www.patientsafetycenter.com.

Kansas State Nurses Association. Plan to Address the Kansas Nursing Shortage. The Kansas Nurse. 78(3): 17, March 2003.

Occupation Safety and Hciilth Administration. Ergonomics: Guidelines for Nursing Homes,

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Ergonomics Program; Proposed Rule, 29 CFR Part 1910, Federal register, 11/23/99.

U. S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Worker Safety Problems spotlighted in Health Care industry. Publication 94-6. 1994.

U. S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lost-Work Time Injuries and Illnesses: Characteristics and resulting time away from work, 2000. April 10, 2002

By Kathy Outlaw, District 9