[Study on lower back pain in home helpers and development of materials for occupational health education]

People who are engaged in home health care services often have to transfer clients while in a half standing posture using repetitious movement including gravitational changes. Transferring heavy patients at homes for the severely mental and physical handicapped is equivalent to the care giving work, listed in the "guideline for prevention of lower back pain in work places" (1994/9/6). The purpose of this study was to investigate incidences of lower back pain and injuries among home helpers as well as to determine the relationship between their level of protective knowledge and prevalence of lower back pain. The results of the study revealed that home helpers complained of a mild type of lower back pain. Although almost all of them had the protective knowledge for lower back injuries that was taught in their training courses, they still felt the need for more knowledge through continuous education regarding protective measures for lower back injuries and pain. Regarding the method of teaching, they want to learn by TV programs, books, texts and self-learning materials. Few of them wanted to learn by computer assisted instructions or the internet. Based upon the results of this study, we have developed new teaching materials for home helpers which explain adequate postures in home care through utilizing their protective knowledge to avoid lower back pain.