Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

An OWAS-based analysis of nurses' working postures

J A Engels¹, J A Landeweerd, Y Kant

¹Department of Occupational Health, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

|May 1, 1994

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a multimodal, physiotherapist-led, vocational intervention for people with rheumatoid arthritis or axial spondyloarthritis and a reduced work ability: a randomized, controlled trial.

Rheumatology international·2025

Same author

Development of a Multimodal, Physiotherapist-Led, Vocational Intervention for People with Inflammatory Arthritis and Reduced Work Ability: A Mixed-Methods Design Study.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2024

Same author

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a multimodal, physiotherapist-led, vocational intervention in people with inflammatory arthritis: study protocol of the Physiotherapy WORKs trial.

BMC rheumatology·2023

Same author

Effect evaluation of a self-management program for dutch workers with a chronic somatic disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2013

Same author

Prediction of sickness absence: development of a screening instrument.

Occupational and environmental medicine·2006

Same author

Health and psychosocial work characteristics of employees who did or did not consult the general practitioner in relation to work.

International archives of occupational and environmental health·2003

Dutch nurses exhibit poor working postures during many daily tasks, not just patient handling. This highlights a substantial risk to their musculoskeletal health throughout the workday.

Area of Science:

Occupational Health
Ergonomics
Nursing Science

Background:

Nurses frequently experience musculoskeletal disorders.
Understanding the ergonomic risks in nursing is crucial for prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the working postures of nurses in orthopaedic and urology wards.
To quantify the contribution of specific activities to the overall working posture load.
To identify activities associated with poor working postures.

Main Methods:

Observation of 18 Dutch nurses using the Ovako Working posture Analysis System (OWAS).
Recording of working postures and activities.
Data analysis using a custom computer program to calculate posture load per activity.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

Poor working postures were observed in both orthopaedic and urology wards.
A significant percentage of typical working postures (20% orthopaedic, 16% urology) were classified as Action Category 2 (slightly harmful).
Poor postures were identified not only in patient handling but also in administrative tasks.

Conclusions:

Nurses' working postures pose a substantial risk to musculoskeletal health.
Focusing solely on patient handling underestimates the total ergonomic load on nurses.
Interventions should address a wider range of nursing activities to mitigate risks.