An OWAS-based analysis of nurses' working postures

The working postures of Dutch nurses (n = 18) in an orthopaedic ward and a urology ward were observed using the Ovako Working posture Analysis System (OWAS). During observation, both working postures and activities were recorded. A specially developed computer program was used for data analysis. By means of this program, it was possible to calculate the working posture load for each activity and the contribution of a specific activity to the total working posture load. This study shows that some activities of the nurses in both wards were performed with poor working postures. In the orthopaedic (resp. urology) ward two (resp. one) out of 19 observed postures of parts of the body were classified as Action Category 2. Moreover, 20% (resp. 16%) of the so-called typical working postures was classified in Action Category 2. This suggests, that in both wards working postures that are slightly harmful to the musculoskeletal system, occur during a substantial part of the working day. Differences between both wards with respect to working posture load and time expenditure were determined. Activities causing the workload to fall into OWAS higher Action Categories were identified. The data show that poor working postures in the nursing profession not only occur during patient handling activities but also during tasks like 'administration'. Focusing on patient-handling (i.e., lifting patients) in order to determine the load on the musculoskeletal system would therefore lead to an underestimation of the total working posture load of nurses.