Assessment of postural analysis in a dialysis clinic

Abstract

Nursing is one of the most hazardous occupations. The study aims to investigate the discomfort perceived by the nurses in a dialysis clinic, assess the clinic workspace and its effect on the nurse’s posture, and establish the factors associated to the perceived discomfort. The Standardized Nordic Questionnaire, Rapid Entire Body Assessment, Spearman Correlation, and related literature were used to determine the physical risk factors present. It was found that 73.33% of the nurses at the clinic experience pain in their lower back and all 5 nurses on the observed shift were at the medium risk level. Recommendations include increasing workstation table height by 10–15 cm to provide adequate knee space for the nurses, and increasing the height of the patient’s chair armrest by at least 10 cm, and the height of the patient’s chair from 53 cm to at least 65–72 cm.