Addressing occupational strains and sprains: musculoskeletal injuries in hospitals.

Recognition related to the need for ergonomic design improvements among health care workers, management and administration, and equipment manufacturers is growing. The future should bring new concepts and innovations which can provide many benefits. Beyond the potential reduction in caregiver injuries, many possibilities exist to improve patient outcomes through better equipment design. As an additional benefit, applying the principles of ergonomics may enhance and increase caregiver productivity through a reduction of patient transfers required, and by minimizing staff required to ambulate patients. Another added value to applying ergonomics to equipment design is the development of convertible furnishing which could create a reduction in operating and capital expenses by reducing the need for some furnishings. Equipment such as cardiac chairs, sling scales, patient chairs, special rental surfaces, and other features might be incorporated into bed design. Ergonomic programs make sense and provide opportunities to create win-win situations throughout the health care industry. Current and future innovations will provide improvements resulting in outcomes from which everyone will benefit. These benefits include a higher quality of work life for health care workers and an improved quality of care for patients.