Abstract
This study examined the implementation of no-lift care practices at Special Nursing Home A using longitudinal data from back pain health check questionnaires and the status of assistive device adoption. The results confirmed that achieving no-lift care was significantly associated with a reduction in the incidence of back pain among care staff. Lifting-free care refers to the use of assistive devices during transfer assistance to avoid manually lifting residents. Facility A progressively introduced assistive devices starting in 2012, implementing a Move Board in 2018 to establish a lifting-free environment for all care situations. A clear decrease in the low back pain prevalence rate was observed only after 2020. This delay is thought to stem from residual situations requiring lifting in the first year due to residents' physical conditions, necessitating time for developing countermeasures and establishing practices. Ultimately, the selection of assistive devices by functional training instructors with physical therapist qualifications and the refinement of usage methods enabled the elimination of lifting assistance in all full-assistance situations, contributing to the reduction in low back pain complaints. These findings suggest that comprehensive efforts to eliminate lifting in all full-assistance situations, rather than merely introducing localized assistive devices, may be effective in preventing back pain among care staff. As this study is a case review limited to a single facility, future research should include comparative studies with other facilities to generalize these findings.
