Team manual handling: a systematic review for identifying research gaps

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Ergonomics
• Systematic Review

Background:

• Team manual handling is prevalent in many occupations.
• This practice poses risks to employee safety and health.
• Identifying research gaps is crucial for improving workplace safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a systematic literature review on team manual handling.
• To identify existing research gaps for future investigation.
• To inform evidence-based strategies for safer manual handling practices.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
• Comprehensive search of electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, Scopus) until September 2020.
• Analysis of 28 selected studies based on biomechanical, physiological, and psychophysical approaches.

Main Results:

• Limited research exists on the physiological responses during team manual handling (3 studies).
• The majority of studies focused on team lifting, with no research on team pulling or pushing.
• Most studies were conducted in laboratory settings using inexperienced young students.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need for more research on team manual handling.
• Future studies should employ epidemiological and physiological approaches.
• Research should be conducted in real work environments with experienced workers across various manual handling tasks.