ETAC PATIENT TURNER

The Patient Turner was used in 7 trials, with the remaining patient unable to maintain a hold on the handle due to bilateral arm weakness. The findings from both patients and physiotherapists support this method for functional STS and transfer activities.

Movement Outcome

This equipment enabled three patients to stand independently, and mean VAS results suggest the movement as stable and equipment effective in assisting these activities. These findings partially support the research hypothesis in that manual assistance during STS was replaced with three patients, reduced with four patients and assessed as not suitable for one. The pulling action was seen as contradictory to normal movements patterns, but for those patients on a maintenance style of rehabilitation programme it was viewed positively for independent transfers and promoting weight-bearing activities. In particular it was suggested to be highly preferable to poorly performed manual transfer techniques especially in functional situations.

Design Features

The findings from both patients and physiotherapists suggest the equipment was easy to use. Positioning the base plate under the patient's feet was highlighted by most of the physiotherapists as difficult when using the recommended 'walking in' method. Recent product developments have incorporated positioning wheels that eliminate this concern thereby suggesting a 'design by users' approach as described by Eason (1995) to create a more ergonomically friendly device.

Physiotherapist Factors

The mean results suggest physiotherapists found the effort required assisting patient STS as 'light'. The postural analysis action level was 'medium' recommending action as 'necessary' to reduce the potential work-related injuries. With five physiotherapists identifying positioning of the equipment as the most awkward activity, positioning wheels should reduce this to an acceptable level though will have no impact on the difficulty of positioning a heavy leg on to the base plate. The mean task duration was 69 seconds, and a significant time difference was found when compared with the Walking Harness (p=0.001) and Encore (p=0.004), though not significant with the Chair Lifter (p=0.043). Physiotherapists recommended the Patient Turner for functional movement including the positioning of patients for physiotherapy, though not for STS treatment activities in active rehabilitation programmes. From these findings it could be suggested that the Patient Turner could play an important role in maintaining independence and promoting weight-bearing opportunities especially in functional activities, with reduced risk of injury to therapy and nursing staff.

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