Implementation and adoption of mechanical patient lift equipment in the hospital setting: The importance of organizational and cultural factors

✍ Scribed by Ashley L. Schoenfisch; Douglas J. Myers; Lisa A. Pompeii; Hester J. Lipscomb

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 111 KB
• Volume: 54
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.21001

✦ Synopsis

Background:

Work focused on understanding implementation and adoption of interventions designed to prevent patient-handling injuries in the hospital setting is lacking in the injury literature and may be more insightful than more traditional evaluation measures.

Methods:

Data from focus groups with health care workers were used to describe barriers and promoters of the adoption of patient lift equipment and a shift to a "minimal-manual lift environment" at two affiliated hospitals.

Results:

Several factors influencing the adoption of the lift equipment and patient-handling policy were noted: time, knowledge/ability, staffing, patient characteristics, and organizational and cultural aspects of work. the adoption process was complex, and considerable variability by hospital and across units was observed.

Conclusions:

The use of qualitative data can enhance the understanding of factors that influence implementation and adoption of interventions designed to prevent patient-handling injuries among health care workers.