Hand forces exerted by long-term care staff when pushing wheelchairs on compliant and non-compliant flooring

Chantelle C Lachance; Alexandra M B Korall; Colin M Russell; Fabio Feldman; Stephen N Robinovitch; Dawn C Mackey

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2018.04.009

Hand forces exerted by long-term care staff when pushing wheelchairs on compliant and non-compliant flooring

Appl Ergon. 2018 Sep:71:95-101. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 Apr 28.

Authors

Chantelle C Lachance¹, Alexandra M B Korall², Colin M Russell³, Fabio Feldman⁴, Stephen N Robinovitch³, Dawn C Mackey⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, British Columbia, Canada; Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, M5B 1W8, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: LachanceC@smh.ca.
² Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, British Columbia, Canada; George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, Third Floor Chown Building, 753 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, R3E 0T6, Manitoba, Canada.
³ Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, British Columbia, Canada; Patient Safety and Injury Prevention, Central City Tower, 400-13450 102nd Ave, Surrey, V3T 5X3, British Columbia, Canada.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: dmackey@sfu.ca.

PMID: 29764620
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2018.04.009

Abstract

Purpose-designed compliant flooring and carpeting have been promoted as a means for reducing fall-related injuries in high-risk environments, such as long-term care. However, it is not known whether these surfaces influence the forces that long-term care staff exert when pushing residents in wheelchairs. We studied 14 direct-care staff who pushed a loaded wheelchair instrumented with a triaxial load cell to test the effects on hand force of flooring overlay (vinyl versus carpet) and flooring subfloor (concrete versus compliant rubber [brand: SmartCells]). During straight-line pushing, carpet overlay increased initial and sustained hand forces compared to vinyl overlay by 22-49% over a concrete subfloor and by 8-20% over a compliant subfloor. Compliant subflooring increased initial and sustained hand forces compared to concrete subflooring by 18-31% when under a vinyl overlay. In contrast, compliant flooring caused no change in initial or sustained hand forces compared to concrete subflooring when under a carpet overlay.

Keywords: Compliant flooring; Manual materials handling; Nursing and nursing systems; Push forces; Usability testing and evaluation; Wheelchair.

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Floors and Floorcoverings*
Hand
Humans
Middle Aged
Physical Exertion / physiology*
Surface Properties
Weight-Bearing
Wheelchairs*