MAPO Method to Assess the Risk of Patient Manual Handling in Hospital Wards: A Validation Study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics
• Public Health

Background:

• Patient manual handling poses increasing risks to healthcare operators.
• The Movement and Assistance of Hospital Patient (MAPO) method, developed in 1999, offers a quick risk assessment for patient handling.
• Recent improvements align the MAPO method with the 2012 ISO technical report for enhanced objectivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the effectiveness of the revised MAPO method in objectively assessing patient manual handling risks.
• To determine the association between MAPO index levels and the incidence of acute low back pain.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter study involving 26 hospitals in Italy's Apulia Region (2014-2016).
• The MAPO method assessed patient manual handling risk across 116 wards.
• 1,998 healthcare workers reported acute low back pain episodes in the preceding 12 months.

Main Results:

• 51% of wards exhibited high exposure levels (MAPO index >5), 37% average (1.51-5), and 12% low (0.1-1.5).
• A statistically significant positive association was found between higher MAPO index levels and increased acute low back pain incidence (adjusted p-trend = .001).

Conclusions:

• Improvements enhance the objectivity of the MAPO method's risk assessment procedure.
• The validated MAPO method remains effective in predicting low back pain risk for healthcare workers.
• Accurate application of the MAPO method demonstrably improves working conditions and reduces occupational hazards.