Evidence-Based Patient Handling: Techniques and Equipment

by Pat Alexander, Emma Crumpton, Brian Fletcher, Mike Fray, Sue Hignett

Overview

Providing care and treatment for patients usually requires moving and handling activities associated with high rates of back injuries. The personal and financial cost of back pain and injuries to health staff means there is an urgent need to improve practice in this area. Over the past twenty years a number of guidelines have been published, however, these have been based on professional consensus rather than evidence.

Evidence-Based Patient Handling tackles the challenge of producing an evidence base to support clinical practice and covers tasks, equipment and interventions. This book questions previously held opinions about moving and handling and provides the foundation for future practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134578092
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/05/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Alexander, Pat; Crumpton, Emma; Fletcher, Brian; Fray, Mike; Hignett, Sue; Ruszala, Sue

Table of Contents

Section One 1. Introduction and Background 2. Method of Systematic review 3. Controversial Issues Section Two: Tasks 4. Transfers 5. Caring Tasks 6. Specialist Areas Section Three 7. Small Aids 8. Beds 9. Hoists Section Four: Interventions 10. Training Programmes 11. Other Interventions References

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Penny Wolfe Moore, RNC, PhD (Southwestern Adventist University)
Description: This is a most interesting book! It is a serious attempt to establish evidence-based practice related to patient handling (moving patients in bed, transfers, etc.). Just to whet your appetite, it appears that the evidence does not support that teaching nurses new patient handling techniques actually changes behavior and using a gait belt with one caregiver is dangerous and not recommended. This is a major meta-review of literature from around the world.
Purpose: The aim of this book is to bring together all available research in a systematic literature review framework with the hope of providing a foundation for future guidance publications, "according to the authors. I think one purpose is to provide direction in selecting interventions at the bedside, in writing procedures, and in teaching safe patient handling. The book meets these objectives very well."
Audience: This book "breaks new ground in a fundamental area of day-to-day work in health and social care. It provides a wide range of professionals with a much-needed source of reference, including: nurses, back-care advisors, health-care managers, risk managers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, midwives, ergonomists, occupational health practitioners (including doctors), ambulance services, and health-staff educators." I agree. All the authors have a background in ergonomics.
Features: The authors state, "Over the last twenty years a number of guidelines have been published, based on professional consensus, but to date there has been no appraisal of the research evidence. This book reports a systematic review which fills that gap and tackles the challenge of producing an evidence base to support clinical practice." The book covers the evidence related to controversial techniques, patient-handling tasks, equipment used in these tasks, and interventions used to reduce injuries. There are many summary tables and flow charts. Studies are summarized and well referenced. This is a very interesting and insightful book.
Assessment: This is great book for anyone who cares what the evidence shows related to patient handling and back injuries. I have never seen a book similar to this one. Nursing needs books like this for every type of intervention. This is true evidence-based practice and some of the findings challenge established practices. This is a must have book for those in risk management, employee health, and others developing patient care policy.

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