Back in action: Reducing risky bends to protect nursing staff.

Abstract

Background: Direct care nursing staff perform a significant amount of risky bends contributing to high rates of moderate-to-severe back pain. Few practical, lasting interventions to address this issue have been reported.

Purpose: To identify workflow-related sources of risky bending and implement practical interventions to reduce ergonomic hazards among direct care nursing staff.

Methods: An ergonomic motion study using the Colorado Nurses Ergonomic Study tool identified medication retrieval and bedside care activities as major sources of risky bends. Interventions included relocating high-use medications within automated dispensing cabinets to ergonomically safer locations and implementing a Raise-the-Bed Awareness Campaign promoting bed-height adjustment during patient care. Medication-use data and staff surveys were used to evaluate outcomes.

Results: Dispensing cabinet optimization eliminated an estimated 236,000 risky bends annually across three surgical units. More than 1 year after implementation, 85% of surveyed staff reported awareness of the Raise-the-Bed Campaign, 72% reported raising beds more frequently, and 84% reported raising beds at least half the time during care activities. Combined interventions reduced an estimated 743,000 risky bends annually.

Conclusions: Combined structural modifications and targeted behavioral interventions can effectively reduce high-risk physical demands that contribute to back pain among direct care nursing staff. These low-cost, sustainable strategies may help improve occupational health and support workforce retention.