Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Work. 2020;66(3):499-517. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203213.
Home care providers assisting with seniors' personal care often experience high rates of musculoskeletal disorders, particularly affecting the lower back. Assisting with bathing is consistently identified as one of their most physically demanding activities.
To identify and describe care providers' procedures for assisting a frail senior to bathe that are likely to contribute most to the development of back injuries.
Eight community-based personal support workers (home care aides) assisted a frail senior (actor) to bathe in a simulated home bathroom. Video recordings of the activity were coded according to providers' postures and to characterize techniques for providing care.
Exposure to severe trunk flexion and high posture-induced back loads was greatest during transfers in and out of the bathtub. In particular, lifting the legs over the rim of the tub, assisting the client to shift across the bath transfer bench, and providing care to the legs and feet involved the care provider spending substantial time in highly flexed postures. No observed techniques for these activities showed substantially lower exposures.
Further tools and/or techniques must be identified or developed to improve caregiver safety during these strenuous activities.
为老年人提供个人护理的家庭护理人员经常遭受肌肉骨骼疾病的困扰，尤其是腰部。洗澡是他们最耗费体力的活动之一。
确定和描述可能导致背部受伤的帮助体弱老年人洗澡的护理人员的程序。
八名社区个人支持工作者（家庭护理助手）在模拟家庭浴室中帮助体弱的老年人（演员）洗澡。根据护理人员的姿势和提供护理的技术对活动的视频记录进行编码。
在进出浴缸的转移过程中，躯干严重弯曲和高姿势引起的背部负荷最大。特别是，将腿抬起越过浴缸边缘、帮助客户在浴缸转移长凳上转移，以及为腿部和脚部提供护理，都会使护理人员长时间处于高度弯曲的姿势。在这些活动中，没有观察到明显可以降低暴露风险的技术。
必须确定或开发更多的工具和/或技术，以提高护理人员在这些费力活动中的安全性。
