Authors (including presenting author) :
PAK CH(1), HO YB(1), CHAN NC(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Allied Health Department (Physiotherapy), Hong Kong Children’s Hospital
Introduction :
Musculoskeletal disorders contribute to a major cause of work-related injuries and illnesses in the hospital. Therefore, the Manual Handling Operation (MHO) risk assessment and training plan specific to the workplace are essential to minimize the risk of MHO related injuries during patient care procedures. A MHO train-the-trainer (TTT) program has been designed and organized by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Committee and MHO team of the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital.
Objectives :
This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the MHO TTT Program.
Methodology :
Nursing staff having two years or above working experience and responsible for MHO training/supervision in their workplace were nominated from different clinical departments to participate in the half-day MHO TTT program. The program included a lecture on basic ergonomics, common MHO related injuries and preventive measures, formulation of MHO risk assessment and training plan. It was followed by a practical session on patient transfer and MHO aids usage, with on-site skills evaluation and risk assessment review. The outcome measures included the 1) pre/post MHO short quizzes for testing the participants’ MHO related knowledge, and 2) self-rated program evaluation survey (1-7, 1= “strongly disagree”, 7= “strongly agree”).
Result & Outcome :
11 nursing staff attended the MHO TTT program and all completed the pre/post MHO short quizzes and program evaluation survey. They were all frontline supervisors involving in OSH-related activities in their workplaces. Both the mean short quiz score and the evaluation survey demonstrated positive results. The mean short quiz score improved significantly from 65.5+1.5 to 81.8+1.3 after the program, reflecting an improvement in MHO related knowledge. With regard to the result of the evaluation survey, all participants showed confidence to perform MHO risk assessment with 18.2% “strongly agree” and 81.8% “agree”. Furthermore, they expressed competence in coaching and assessing MHO skills for their colleagues in their workplace with 27.3% “strongly agree”, 63.6% “agree” and 9.1% “slightly agree”. The reported half-day MHO TTT program is effectively delivered to the participants with positive feedback. The program allowed the frontline nursing supervisors to acquire MHO related knowledge and formulate the MHO risk assessment and training plan, aiming at minimizing and preventing the MHO related injuries in their workplace.
