Abstract

BackgroundNurse stations are one of the primary units for supporting effective functioning of any hospital. They are important working environments that demand adherence to known ergonomic principles for the well-being of both staff and patients. The aim of this study was to develop a psychometrically tested tool for the assessment of the ergonomic conditions of nurse workstations in hospitals.MethodsTen hospitals, with a total of 133 nurse stations participated in this mixed-methods research. The domains and items of the tool were developed based on a literature review, an experts’ panel, and interviews with nurses.ResultsThe final nurse station ergonomic assessment (NSEA) tool has good psychometric properties. Validity was assessed by face validity and content validity. Reliability was evaluated using inter-rater agreement and test-retest reliability analyses with a four-week interval between assessments. The NSEA is comprised of 64 items across eight domains: layout and location (7 items), workspace (11 items), security-safety (5 items), environmental conditions (8 items), counter (8 items), chair (13 items), desk (9 items), and monitor (3 items).ConclusionsThe NSEA adds to the literature a tool for managers to ensure they comply with legal requirements and support best practice for those working on hospital wards. The NSEA can be used to identify challenges for healthcare professionals who use nurse stations and support the execution of targeted interventions to improve human-environment interactions.

Highlights

  • Nurse stations are one of the primary units for supporting effective functioning of any hospital

  • The aim of this study was to develop and validate a nurse station ergonomic assessment tool to address this gap in the literature

  • There are established ergonomic principles that can be applied in the design of nurse stations to encourage good performance, and ameliorate the high levels of musculoskeletal disorders and cumulative trauma disorders associated with nursing [4, 5]

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Summary

Introduction

Nurse stations are one of the primary units for supporting effective functioning of any hospital. They are important working environments that demand adherence to known ergonomic principles for the well-being of both staff and patients. The nurse station is a key area of human-environment interaction in hospital wards. The relationship of physical design, work processes, technology infrastructure and organizational culture in a nurse station underpins nurse. Ergonomics is the science of understanding the interaction of people and work systems. It is a multidisciplinary approach, underpinned by three sets of interrelated factors [3]. There are established ergonomic principles that can be applied in the design of nurse stations to encourage good performance, and ameliorate the high levels of musculoskeletal disorders and cumulative trauma disorders associated with nursing [4, 5]

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