Musculoskeletal Disorders due to Patient Transportation in Health Workers: A Systematic Review in Iran

Transportation of patients in hospitals is one of the main reasons for the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases among health care workers. Considering that the practical action of recognizing and evaluating the studies has been done, therefore the present study has been conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases and the determinants affecting the disorders in a systematic manner in Iran.

Method and Materials: 

In this systematic review, English databases of Web of Science, Scopus, Proquest, PubMed as well as databases Magiran, SID  in Iran, and also Google Scholar search engine in the period  Jan 1990 to Jan 2020  according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement were done. Study process was conducted from 28th September to the end of October.  Cochrane (adapted for evaluating interventional studies) and Strengthening the Reporting of Observation Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklists (adapted for evaluating cross-sectional studies) were used to evaluate the quality of the articles. To avoid bias in the study, the data were analyzed by two researchers entirely independently. Any disagreement between the researchers was examined by a third party.

Out of 93 articles, finally, 10 articles2 (interventional and 8 cross-sectional articles) entered the final list of studies. Thus, the final articles were performed on health system staff (nurse, nurse’s assistance, helper nurse’s assistance and service workers). In all studies, the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases were highly reported among those responsible for transporting the patient.

Considering the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among the medical staff, the interventions carried out in the field of teaching the correct method of patient transportation in Iran seem insufficient, so that there is a need for better planning and designing more practical interventions. Also, often enough tools and equipment are not available for easy transportation, which should be considered by hospital managers.