Effectiveness of Safe Patient Handling Equipment and Techniques: A Review of Biomechanical Studies.

Objective: This review aimed to evaluate all studies that have evaluated the biomechanical effects when using assistive devices.

Introduction: The physical demands of patient handling activities are well known. One safety strategy for the reduction of the physical risks is use of assistive devices.

Stand Out in Class: restructuring the classroom environment to reduce sitting time - findings from a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Excessive sedentary behaviour (sitting) is a risk factor for poor health in children and adults. Incorporating sit-stand desks in the classroom environment has been highlighted as a potential strategy to reduce children's sitting time. The primary aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of conducting a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a sit-stand desk intervention within primary school classrooms.

Stand Out in Class: restructuring the classroom environment to reduce sedentary behaviour in 9-10-year-olds - study protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Sedentary behaviour (sitting) is a highly prevalent negative health behaviour, with individuals of all ages exposed to environments that promote prolonged sitting. Excessive sedentary behaviour adversely affects health in children and adults. As sedentary behaviour tracks from childhood into adulthood, the reduction of sedentary time in young people is key for the prevention of chronic diseases that result from excessive sitting in later life.

Improving long term driving comfort by taking breaks - How break activity affects effectiveness.

During long duration journeys, drivers are encouraged to take regular breaks. The benefits of breaks have been documented for safety; breaks may also be beneficial for comfort. The activity undertaken during a break may influence its effectiveness.

More holes than cheese. What prevents the delivery of effective, high quality and safe health care in England?

What prevents the delivery of effective, high quality and safe health care in the National Health Service (NHS) in England? This paper presents 760 challenges which 330 NHS staff reported as preventing the delivery of effective, high quality and safe care. Some problems have been known for over 25 years (staff shortages, finance and patient complexity) but other challenges raise questions about the commitment of the NHS to patient and staff safety. For example, Organisational Culture leading to 'stifling bureaucracy', 'odds stacked against smooth […] working' and Workload resulting in 'firefighting daily' and 'perpetual crisis mode'.

Effect of long term driving on driver discomfort and its relationship with seat fidgets and movements (SFMs).

Discomfort in vehicle seats is a multifactorial problem with large increases in discomfort occurring during extended duration driving. Due to the nature of driver discomfort, previous research has found it difficult to accurately quantify long term driver discomfort via the use of objective measures. This paper reports a laboratory study that investigates a novel objective measure of long term driver discomfort and its correlation with subjective discomfort ratings.

TROPHI: development of a tool to measure complex, multi-factorial patient handling interventions.

Unlabelled: Patient handling interventions are complex and multi-factorial. It has been difficult to make comparisons across different strategies due to the lack of a comprehensive outcome measurement method. The Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions (TROPHI) was developed to address this gap by measuring outcomes and comparing performance across interventions.

Which bed designs and patient characteristics increase bed rail use?

Background: the design and use of bed rails has been contentious since the 1950s with benefits including safety, mobility support and access to bed controls and disadvantages associated with entrapment and restraint.

Objective: to explore which bed designs and patient characteristics (mobility, cognitive status and age) influence the likelihood of rails being used on UK medical wards.

Method: the use of rails was surveyed overnight at 18 hospitals between July 2010 and February 2011.

Observational study of treatment space in individual neonatal cot spaces.

Purpose: Technology developments in neonatal intensive care units have increased the spatial requirements for clinical activities. Because the effectiveness of healthcare delivery is determined in part by the design of the physical environment and the spatial organization of work, it is appropriate to apply an evidence-based approach to architectural design. This study aimed to provide empirical evidence of the spatial requirements for an individual cot or incubator space.

Evidence-based patient handling: systematic review.

Background: This article summarises the findings of an international systematic review of patient handling. More than 880 papers were read, critically appraised and allocated a quality rating score. The evidence supports the provision of a minimal set of equipment for moving and handling patients, and multifactor intervention strategies based on risk assessment rather than those predominantly based on technique training.