Objective measures of adoption of patient lift and transfer devices to reduce nursing staff injuries in the hospital setting

Interventions to reduce patient-handling injuries in the hospital setting are often evaluated based on their effect on outcomes such as injury rates. Measuring intervention adoption could address how and why observed trends in the outcome occurred. Methods: Unit-level data related to adoption of patient lift equipment were systematically collected at several points in time over 5 years on nursing units at two hospitals, including hours of lift equipment use, equipment accessibility, and supply purchases and availability. Results: Various measures of adoption highlighted the adoption process' gradual nature and variability by hospital and between units. No single measure adequately assessed adoption. Certain measures appear well-correlated. Conclusion: Future evaluation of primary preventive efforts designed to prevent patient-handling injuries would be strengthened by objective data on intermediate measures that reflect intervention implementation and adoption.