Development of transferring art movement assessment tool (TAMA-tool) for low back load assessment : validity and reliability in the repositioning up in bed version

Abstract

  The aim of the study was to construct an observation tool for assessment of the amount of the low back load during transferring patients on bed, and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the tool. The tool consists of 18 items arranged in three parts: working environment, posture stability, and movement efficiency. In validity of the experiment, 14 nurses performed repositioning up in bed to a standardized patient. Their movements were recorded, and the joint angles, distances, compressive forces (Fc) to the L5/S1 were calculated. The overall score was moderately related to the maximum and average Fc (r = -0.42, p < 0.01 and r = -0.52, p < 0.05). In reliability of the experiment, five observers checked 19 patterns of repositioning up in bed, performed by one nurse. The intraclass correlation coefficients were over 0.80 in the inter-observer reliability, and were over 0.70 in the intra-observer reliability. Therefore, the validity and reliability of this tool were satisfactory, and the results suggest that this tool is a useful test for assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders related to patient transfer