Back belts supportive in reducing injuries
Costs, lost days drop significantly
Pilot studies showed lumbar back support use to be so successful in reducing injuries at one Southern hospital that all at-risk employees now are being considered for the back support program.
The back supports were piloted in two high-injury-rate areas at the 1,900-employee St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, KY. Those areas were the orthopedic-neurologic nursing unit and housekeeping/laundry departments, says Nancy Mitchell, RNC, MHA, employee health coordinator.
At the request of the nursing director in the ortho-neuro unit, Mitchell helped formulate a plan to reduce back injuries. Because experts are divided on the efficacy of back support belts in preventing injuries (see Hospital Employee Health, December 1992, p. 167), Mitchell says the pilot study was a "creative decision" that paid off.
"We developed a program, and it worked," she says. "Whether just wearing the belt reminds employees to use the right technique or if the belt itself works, we can't tell, but clearly the belt has had a positive impact on our injuries."
Control and study periods of one year each were established. The control period was the year just prior to implementation of the lumbar back support belts.
No extra training provided
In the first study, which took place on the 80-employee ortho-neuro unit, workers who had patient lifting and transferring responsibilities were taught how to wear the belts, but had no extra training on lifting techniques other than the training they had received when hired. Support belt use was mandatory during the study period.
"We wanted to be able to evaluate how use of the belts affected injury rates without any other interventions," says Mitchell.
During the June 1, 1992, through May 31, 1993, control year, ortho-neuro unit staff incurred 30 back injuries. That number decreased to 19 injuries during the study period of June 1, 1993 through May 31, 1994, a 63% drop. Lost-time injuries declined from 10 in the control year to five in the study year, with a significant decrease in lost days from 107 to 35.
Approximately 100 housekeepers and laundry workers were involved in the second pilot study. During the control year of June 1, 1993 through May 31, 1994, personnel incurred 17 back injuries. When required to wear support belts during the June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995 study period, they reported only four injuries, a 77% decrease. Three lost-time injuries during the control period were reduced to one during the study year. Lost days were slashed dramatically from 162 to one.
Mitchell notes that the second pilot differed from the first in that the housekeepers and laundry workers were trained not only in the use of the back belts, but also in how to mop, empty trash, and perform other necessary tasks.
"This was our second pilot, and we wanted to add the other component initially to see how much difference it would make," she says.
Cost savings were difficult to calculate, Mitchell notes. For the second pilot, she estimates a savings in lost days of about $10,300, based on an $8 per hour average hospital wage. Lost-time savings from the first pilot were approximately $6,900, based on a higher $12 per hour wage due to inclusion of the nurses' salaries. She points out that cost savings are for lost days alone and do not include medical cost or job replacement cost savings.
Due to the success of both pilots, employees in high-risk areas still wear back belts. Mitchell is helping develop a quarterly inservice for employees who perform patient transfers, as well as materials management personnel and housekeepers.
The lumbar back support belts used at St. Joseph cost about $30 each, but "we more than made our money back," she says.
[Editor's note: For more information, contact Nancy Mitchell, RNC, MHA, employee health coordinator, St. Joseph Hospital, 1 St. Joseph Drive, Lexington, KY 40504. Telephone: (606) 278-3436, ext. 1159.] *
Source: Northern California Kaiser Permanente Regional Health Education, Oakland.
*Note: References are listed on reverse.
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