An Inspection Tool and Process to Identify Modifiable Aspects of Acute Care Hospital Patient Care Units to Prevent Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

A dearth of practical resources is available for evaluating ergonomic risk factors in dynamic health care work environments. Of particular need are tools for inspecting patient care environments for hazards. The goal of this study was to describe the development and application of an inspection tool and a process for identifying hazards inherent in the modifiable aspects of the physical environment to reduce injury risk to hospital workers. Through an iterative and participatory process, the tool and inspection process were developed with three purposes in mind: (a) create a framework for the inspection of physical work environments and physical conditions of work associated with injury risk (hazards), (b) document the physical conditions, and (c) provide feedback to decision makers. The tool and process were used by an ergonomics researcher on four patient care units as part of the Be Well, Work Well Total Worker Health (R) intervention. The resulting inspection process provided a structured method for recognizing hazards in the dynamic modifiable physical work environment and reporting both observations and recommendations to decision makers. The development and implementation of the inspection tool provided guidance to modify the physical work environment by implementing ergonomic solutions. The tool allowed the organization to plan and prioritize ergonomic hazard abatement (e.g. resource allocation and tracking trends). Within a Total Worker Health (R) framework, this tool can measure work practices which can then be used to inform organizational programs and policies within a health care setting.