ABSTRACT
At the request of the Geriatric Residences Management Committees, the Prevention and Safety at the Workplace Service of Mantua Hospital coordinated the practical application of Chapter V of Law 626/94 with special reference to patient handling. Assessment of exposure and clinical identification of disorders and impairment of the lumbar spine carried out using the methods proposed by the EPM Research Centre involved 15 residences and a total of 31 departments analyzed and 435 workers submitted to health surveillance by the respective certified occupational physicians. With the exception of one department, the exposure levels were found to be medium-high (MAPO Index > 1.51) considering the number of disabled patients, the significant lack of lifting equipment and the lack of training for this risk factor. Acute low back pain reported in the previous 12 months revealed a prevalence of 10%, more than 4 times that of non-exposed workers. The prevalence of functional spondylarthropathies also showed high values (16%), as also the number of degenerative diseases of the lumbosacral spine (16%). 11% of the males and 17% of the females were judged unfit for patient handling, which created problems of job reallocation. By concentrating the results at the Prevention and Safety at the Workplace Service it was possible to plan interventions for improvement, using as referents for the various residences a working group where the presence of a qualified physiotherapist proved to be particularly useful. Coordination of the certified occupational physicians also improved the quality of health surveillance.
