Journal of Ergonomics

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders are the major health problems in nurses. One of the main reasons is patient transfer. The work technique of nursing personnel during patient transfers has been evaluated using different methods. One of the most useful ones is Direct Nurse Observation Instrument (DINO). The purpose of the present study was to assess the musculoskeletal disorders risk related to patient transfer in nursing personnel using the DINO method.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 250 nurses working in affiliated hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran in 2015. Data were collected by Nordic questioners and DINO index check list. The validity and reliability of DINO checklist were reviewed and approved. For data analysis, independent t-test, chi-squared test and logistic regression were used.

Results: The average result of DINO checklist was 9.73 points (SD = 1.8), which can suggest that the way in which the technical transfer was carried out might not have been the safest. The results showed that the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders in nursing staff was significantly associated with final scoring of the DINO index (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: According to the findings, DINO was an appropriate tool to assess musculoskeletal disorders risk due to patient handling in the nursing personnel. This method can be used in the evaluation of patient transfer educational programs and also to identify and assess an unsafe work techniques used by nurses.