Static or postural load: an underestimated risk

The presentation at the Hyvä Ikä – Good Age event, Ergonomics in nursing: Innovative solutions to hygiene care challenges, will focus on a new tool that is aimed at reducing the static or postural load for health care workers. Too often do prevention programs focus only on the dynamic load involving lifting, transferring and pushing and pulling. It is however clear from research that the static or postural load is a major cause of long-term disabling back pain in nurses. In some situations, it is of more influence than lifting and transferring patients. Exposure is experienced as high and often too high during tasks like washing, showering, bathing, wound care, dressing and undressing, toileting and incontinence care. As these risks are underestimated static load is often called the ‘silent killer’ as it is often only noticed when it is too late. There are good solutions available, but they are not used enough yet.

That is exactly the reason why a new tool was developed to assess the risks of static load and create more awareness on this subject. This tool will be demonstrated for the first time and the theoretical and evidence base behind it presented.

Research

I started my own research organization: LOCOmotion Research in Healthcare together with my brother Nico Knibbe. Since then, we have been doing research, developing practical tools, implementing changes and supporting health care organizations with innovations. We presented at international conferences also as keynote speakers (Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, USA and Canada). I was awarded the Bernice Owen Award from the USA for my research in patient handling.  On a national basis we have supported social parties and the inspectorate with research and implementation. This effort has been successful and still continues. Tools like the TilThermometer have been translated in a series of languages among other in Swedish and are available for free on the internet. We have also worked for European partners and the EC as content specialists on ergonomics in health care. Along with my work for LOCOmotion I work as a researcher for the Utrecht University Medical Centre.

Free e-learning modules

We have also developed websites with clear and evidence-based descriptions of transfer and care techniques on papier and on a series of 240 videos. To further reinforce implementation, we offer a series of free e-learning modules that is currently used by over 35.000 health care workers per month.

I very much look forward to presenting at your conference. Let me introduce myself a little bit further. I graduated cum laude as a human movement scientist and as a physical therapist. In the beginning I worked as a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, and I taught kinesthetics at a nursing school in Amsterdam.

Hope to see you soon!

Hanneke