Research Project Summary

Year Funded: 2010 Budget: $50,000 Funding Agency: WorkSafeBC
Title: Creating a Safe Client Handling Culture in the Challenging Environment of Emergency Departments
Category: Changing Nature of Work and Work Environment
Subcategory: Changing Nature of Work and Work Environment
Keywords: emergency department, safe client handling, safety culture, healthcare ergonomics
Link to research website:

Issue:

Relative to other industries in B.C., there continues to be high rates of musculoskeletal injuries within the healthcare industry. Emergency departments are faced with unique challenges due to their often fast-paced, chaotic environments and unpredictable patient populations. This project proposes to introduce a safe client handling champion in the emergency department team, with the intent to incorporate safe client handling into clinical practice in emergency departments.

Objectives:

The goal is to reduce worker injuries and improve safety culture. A unique focus of this research will be to evaluate the impact of constructive, in-the-moment, real time education and training to workers.

Anticipated Results:

It is anticipated that the research will develop and deliver a documented, viable safe client handling education and training strategy for emergency departments, including a standard check sheet for mobility assessment; and, an improvement in the safety culture at the intervention sites. A pre/post survey capturing staff perceptions of patient handling equipment use and safe client handling program elements (assessment and training) as well as safety culture will provide qualitative and quantitative data on the intervention success; and, a decrease in the patient handling injuries/incidents rates at the intervention sites.

Investigators:

Martha Cloutier (Fraser Health)