Training in safer and healthier patient handling techniques.

The aim of the project was to educate nursing staff on patient handling techniques to prevent low back pain. Within the framework of a multidisciplinary preventive intervention, a pre-post study design was implemented in a hospital. One hundred and forty nurses and healthcare assistants attended a two-hour lesson and a three-hour practical training session; 48 nurses attended a train-the-trainer programme that was comprised of three-hour classes, two-hour lessons on communication techniques and four hours of practical training.