Occupational ergonomic and biomechanical risks in patient transporting in the operating room: Qualitive and Quantitative research of cross-sectional study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate occupational ergonomic and biomechanical risks in nursing professionals in patient transporting in the operating room of a public hospital. METHODOLOGY: Exploratory, observational and descriptive study. For this the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used, which analyzes different daily contexts to estimate weekly time spent walking, moderate, vigorous intensity physical activity and passive activities (sitting time). The Nordic Questionnaire enables the identification of musculoskeletal disorders in the period of 12 months and 7 days prior to the interview. It also allows a diagnosis of the workplace by its relation with the prevalence of the place and time of the onset of painful symptoms. In addition, the methodology of Ergonomic Workplace Analysis (EWA) was applied. RESULTS: According to the analysis of the collected data, 44 nursing professionals participated of this study, 32 (72.7%) were female and 13 (29.54%) were male. When analyzing the specialty: 24 (54.5%) were nursing assistants, nursing technicians correspond to 14 (31.8%) and Nurses 6 (13.6%). The IPAQ questionnaire showed that 16 (35%) of these professionals remain active. Through ergonomic analysis of the workplace, variables such as stretcher type, maintenance conditions, type of anesthesia, patient age, among others, interfere with greater or lesser efforts in patient transport. CONCLUSION: Thus, it becomes necessary the adoption of preventive measures aimed at improving health by preventing musculoskeletal complications in the performance of activities. Besides promoting good working conditions for professionals in their professional environment, as well as bringing benefits to the hospital.