Back injuries are the most common form of occupational injuries that occur in the workplace around the globe. From the occupational health statistics, back injuries or musculoskeletal disorders have been recorded to affect at least 1.1 million people every year in Great Britain alone. In the United States, a survey conducted in 1995 indicated that the back injuries were responsible for causing disabling injuries to the tune of 900,000 American adults. The situation is deplorable as back injuries are on the increase and millions of working-class people around the globe are at the risk of such injuries. To understand the severity of the musculoskeletal disorders, due to effective data records and information accessibility, the industrialized nations can track the impact of such disorders in the working population. In the United States alone, the musculoskeletal disorders contribute to financial losses to the tune of approximately 20billion dollars every year. In the United Kingdom, the approximate financial constraints caused by lower back pain problems approximate to at least 3440 million pounds every year. A clear picture of the severity of the back injuries is observable through the risk factor, whereby estimations indicate that of the total working population, as high as 50% of the workers are predestined to suffer at least one form of back pain while as much as 80% are approximated to suffer lower back pain in particular while working (Arial, 2014). As indicated, the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is on the rise among the working population, and the causality and risk factor is influenced by various issues within the physical structure of the body, the working environment and the nature of the work being conducted on a daily basis.
Cognizant of the working environment, emergency medical technicians are indicated to be at a high risk of occupational injuries. Among the injuries, most prevalence includes the musculoskeletal disorders which are conditions informed by the body and muscular strains caused by the working conditions. Emergency medical technicians’ risk emanates from the nature of the work they conduct on a daily basis coupled with an uncontrolled work environment. Each year, there are millions of calls that are placed in a request for emergency services that put the emergency medical technicians on a busy schedule. The major objective of the emergency medical technicians is to treat as well as offer transport services to injured patients to the hospital for more care. The setting for emergency care may take place in all places, may it be on a busy highway, urban setting, high-rise buildings, hilly environments just to mention a few. The uncertainty produced by the work environment is an indication of the uncontrollable nature of prior planning of activities geared to an emergency call. Similarly, the unpredictability, austere and dangerousness of the work environment predisposes the emergency medical professionals to the risk of injuries.
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Therein, this paper will be categorical to examine the context of back injuries among the emergency medical technicians. The examination will take the form of literature review and analysis of the subject matter while exploring the available data on back injuries in the working environment. In the context of emergency care, the paper will explore the working environment to gather the causal factor, the risk factor as well as the preventative approaches available. Nevertheless, the paper will endeavor to evaluate the information to make worthy recommendations to the approaches used by emergency medical personnel to reduce the risk factor.
Musculoskeletal disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most common types of injuries among the working populations. The disorders sprout from the injuries or pain that resides in the human musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is inclusive of various parts the human skeletal structure which includes joints, muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons as well as the structure that supports the back, limbs, and the neck. The disorders are most common among the working population as the primary causality of the problem is the sudden exertion of the body or repeated and continuous motion that causes an amount of strain to the body. Nevertheless, injuries on the same positions resulting from traumatic events are not considered as musculoskeletal disorders (Bernard, 1997). The most common among the disorders in the back injuries that result from the work environment. According to medical statistics, over seventy percent of the people in the working population are at the risk of back pain and injuries as a consequence of the work surroundings. However, other syndromes include epicondylitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tension-neck syndrome and tendinitis as well as the hand-arm vibration syndrome.
Back injuries
As indicated, back injuries are the most prevalent form of the musculoskeletal disorders, and therein the risk and causality factor are most common in the workplace. Back injuries are most relevant or caused when the limits of maximum strain are reached or even exceeded in the tissues as well as the muscles, bones, ligaments, bones, and tillage. The nature of causality is limited to the constant, continuous or repetitive strain on a daily basis. The eventual accumulation of stress to the body part eventually reaches the breaking point where an injury is experienced. Back injuries are consistent with manual material handling activities where an individual is expected to move heavy or strenuous material as the job description. The presence of lower back pain is an often indicator of the consequential injuries that may be caused by manual material handling. The indication is relative and requires to be investigated because as another causality factor, it's a sign that the working environment contains risk factors to back injuries. Further, it's an indication of relatively poor workplace design in from the perspective of ergonomics.
Back injuries are not only triggered by the exertion or overexertion but rather may be caused due to a series of working approaches especially in the manual handling of material. Studies conducted have indicated that the approach to the manual handling of materials is as important to the health of the person as the weights being lifted by the person. Therein combinations of factors interplay to cause back injuries while working. For instance, from the perspective of frustration of the employer and the employee in dealing with issues of back injuries by design may cause to back injuries to the individual. In this case, when an employee exerts him/herself in the process of work, some injuries are so mild that no immediate pain is felt. For example, the three load-bearing elements of each spinal unit can be injured without the person feeling pain (Hignett, 2007). The situation indicates that further exertion or further conducting of the task in the same approach will cause more back injuries. Nevertheless, in another perspective informed by the lower back pain, the degeneration of discs or joints is common to those in the risk of back injuries as well as to those who are not. Therefore, risk factor analysis is imperative in the workplace to ensure that the organization implements preventative measures that reduce the risk of exposer to the employee to cumulative disorders such as the back injuries.
Back injuries among emergency medical technicians
The tasks performed by emergency medical technicians are responsible for a considerable strain that may lead to the localized pressure to the body in the back and joints. Despite the difference in time that the jobs are carried out, there is considerable risk that is identifiable when there is a combination of some tasks that happen to be strenuous are performed on a daily basis. The basis of the activities is identifiable in a series of tasks that border the movement of the emergency medical technicians when transporting, lifting and carrying the patients from the risk environment to the rescue vehicle. Nevertheless, is most disconcerting the fact that little research has been conducted in the field to emphasize on approaches geared towards reduction of back injuries.
Informed by the quantification studies that thrive in ensuring correct recording of the health conditions of the emergency medical technicians, data has been described to identify the presence of prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries and especially back injuries as the most proliferated form of injury in the profession. Emergency medical technicians are identified to form an intrinsic part of the medical services, and they perform tasks on a daily basis that continuously put pressure on their body due to the physical demand for energy when performing them. The job that describes Emergency health care requires the full-time participation of the medical technicians on a daily basis as well as all times of the day. The reason provided is the intrinsic need for emergency care that the people require all hours of day and night. For example, in the United States alone, over 17 million emergency calls are placed to emergency services, and around 900,000 emergencies medical professional respond to those calls to provide the lifesaving services (Putz-Anderson. 1997). Cognizant of the imperative nature of the services provided by the emergency medical technicians, there is need to provide the services regardless of the conditions or even the environment that is present in the patients’ locale. Therein, the emergency medical technicians rush to intervene on the medical emergencies when called upon.
From a comparative study of emergency medical technicians and workers from other professions indicates that the risk factor to a predisposition to back injuries is prevalent in the emergency medical profession. The indication is related to the fact that the emergency medical technicians are most likely to a complaint of back pain than individuals from other professions. The severity of the situation is indicated by the fact that back injuries account for about fifty percent of all line of duty injuries that force the retirement of the emergency medical technicians. The consistent of the high prevalence rate among emergency medical technicians is an indication of risk involved in the job description, insufficiency in training, or the approaches employed by the emergency medical technicians in dispensing their duties.
Cognizant of the perspective of the approach used in the intervention procedure of back injuries in emergency medical technicians, there have been eminent efforts in the intervention protocol to reduce back injuries. Among the approaches is the deliberate effort in the creation of programs with the sole objective of strengthening the back muscles of the emergency medical technicians and reduce their prevalence to back injuries. Such programs and exercises with similar objectives have the favor in literary works due to the evidence realized in similar studies (Gentzler, and Stader, 2010). Nevertheless, strengthening the back muscles is not an entire solution to the problem but rather a solution may be found in the alteration of tasks in the effort to reduce the stress caused by a particular task to the body. For instance, the method is highly praised by the researchers in who have evaluated construction workers.
The comparison is relevant due to the similar risk prevalence factor regarding back injuries as the emergency medical technicians. Therefore, an evaluation of the construction workers' risk factor is attributed to frequent repetitive physical strains as well as the resulting awkward postures. The assessment specific to the effect of changing heights as well as other methods used by the construction workers to transport materials to the demand of physical exertion and discomfort of the construction workers was illuminating. From the assessment, clarity to the methodology is established in that, the manipulation of heights in the workplace to the levels of comfort and performance of tasks reduced the strains and bending. The perspective is categorical in the essence of its significance in the reduction of almost seventy percent of trunk flexion as well as the duration by at least fifty-two percent.
The approach is categorical to the emergency medical technicians’ working conditions. For instance, working within unstable environments would require the renovation of working methodology as well as the deployment of equipment. For instance, in the construction work, the mechanization, as well as usage of equipment suitable for the task in question, was found to have a considerable significance in the reduction of strain and injuries. In essence, the approach is employed to disclose the importance of holistic approach to the interven5tion strategy adopted. On the one hand, one must recognize that the body is an essential element in determining the injuries (Studnek, 2007). The perspective, therefore, encourages strengthening the body to adjust to the tasks and strains within the workplace. On the other hand, a perspective that questions the environment must be investigated. The equipment used as well as their efficiency in increasing the reduced human effort in the task carried out is imperative in back injuries prevention. Therefore, the perspective highly recommends the mechanization strategy as the solution to the awkward postures as well as the manual material handling that cause back injuries.
In emergency medicine, high level of risk for injury is experienced especially due to the awkward postures associated especially in the bending, reaching, and twisting among others. The activities are associated with patient retrieval, care, and transit. Among the most demanding tasks in the job description of an emergency medical technician are the tasks performed in a while transporting the patient. For instance, the rigorous medical check-up and monitoring require the emergency medical technicians to perform a rigorous task while sited alongside the patient. The medical equipment and materials required to perform the tasks are often stored in several compartments in the emergency vehicle. Therein, the emergency medical technicians endure rigorous body movement in the process of reaching, bending and sometimes stand in the moving emergency vehicle. The result is the awkward posture of the emergency medical technicians in the truck due to the design of the vehicle and the needs of the patient within (Hignett, 2007). Nevertheless, new research and studies have been conducted in the effort to underscore the design of the emergency vehicles as well as the equipment within to fit a hospitable work environment for the emergency medical technicians.
Research methodology
The tenacity of this section is to analyze the methodology applied within the profession of emergency medical technicians. Therein, informed by the principal objective of this study, the researcher will employ an empirical analysis within the available literature. Therein, the researcher will be categorical in the identification of critical studies and researches conducted across the globe. The application of an analytical procedure is due to the constraints observed in the field as well as the time constraints. Therefore, the researcher will forego the field research and embrace the secondary analysis of the data collected in numerous studies and research on the subject matter.
The choice of the method is informed by the objectives of the research paper. To analyze the risks involved within the emergency medical technicians’ profession, one must analyze the various approaches used in the fulfillment of their task. Further, the objective of the paper is categorical in the identification of remedies most applicable within the field. The achievement of such goals is not achievable through a singular study. It requires a vehement and rigorous analysis of various approaches and perspectives as applied not only to a particular part of the world but in comparison with other approaches. Therefore, for the purpose of achieving the set objectives, it’s imperative for the applied method to be holistic and therefore the researcher applies the empirical analysis methodology. The researcher analysis will take the approach of various studies to analyze the approaches applied by emergency medical technicians and inform the recommendations through which the risk of back injuries can be reduced.
For the purpose of a holistic perspective, the researcher will underscore the relevance of key studies from different worldviews. Among them are key case studies from the United States and the United Kingdom. The choice of both countries is informed by the developmental nature of the countries’ emergency medical care and the availability of relevant of ready and accessible information. The study will also be informed by various literature analyses of ergonomic studies conducted within the industry as well as across other disciplines that may contribute to the purpose the study. The researcher will employ the analysis of the data collected in several case studies to inform the perspective of a holistic evaluation and recommendations.
Ergonomic evaluation
For the purpose of understanding the nature of injuries and the risks that reside in the work environment of an emergency medical technician, ergonomic evaluation is imperative. The perspective of ergonomic evaluation is underscored by the analytic property of the tools that engage the environment in seeking the efficacy of the methods and the approaches used by the emergency medical technicians in their jobs. There are numerous ways through which such an evaluation may take place. The efficacy of the evaluation takes the perspective of application of ergonomic tools as well as on-site observation (Gilad, 2007). The analysis is based on the risk factor identification through the analysis of the physical activities that result in awkward as well as extreme postures that may lead to physical injuries to the back of the emergency medical technicians. The ergonomic evaluation takes precedence situation where they have to ensure the degree of the risk factor is within the range given that all activities within the job parameters have a certain level of risk involved.
The evaluation takes the form of task analysis versus the degree of risk. The comparison between the two is then observed on the level at which it occurs. Therein, the result will be a determination on whether the degree of risk identifiable is prudent enough to warrant either an implementation of drastic changes of the task involved or the design of the equipment used by the emergency medical technicians. The valuation has its major objective in the analysis and after that recommend approaches through which strain can be reduced, enhancing the comfort of emergency medical technician while conducting tasks, decrease energy consumption as well as enhancement of safety measures (Gilad, 2007). Through the limitation of extreme and awkward postures, the evaluation ensures that reduction of the risk of back injuries. The ergonomic evaluation ultimate goal id encompassed not only within the working relationship of an emergency medical technician but also in the enhancement literature within the field of occupational safety.
Results and discussions
Informed by data collected from several case studies on the risk factor involved in the emergency medical technicians profession, the researcher categorizes the data into two perspective analyses. One is the individual task analysis that emphasizes on single tasks conducted by the emergency medical technicians. Two is the collective or organizational strategies applied by both the emergency medical technicians and the effectiveness of the equipment used.
Individual task analysis
Individual tasks within the emergency medicine activities are responsible for the causation of back injuries of the working technicians. Among the major tasks of the emergency medical technicians are the patient care in-transit as well as search and rescue. Both tasks are rigorous and require both physical strength and body movement to be accomplished.
In-transit patient care
In-transit patient care requires the evaluation of both the task conducted within the emergency vehicle, the equipment used in the emergency vehicle as well as the design of the emergency vehicle. The three parameters of the in-transit patient care are to be evaluated in an ergonomic analysis through which the risk factors are identifiable. The nature of the design of the task conducted in the process is also an indicator of the process implemented by the emergency medical technicians while in transit. Ergonomic evaluation of the in-transit patient care also encompasses the various treatment types involved to determine the postures and body movements involved.
In some studies conducted to ascertain the ergonomic status of in-transit patient care, the risk factor was tested on the back posture stress. To test the risk factor, the researchers applied the risk coded reach zones as a tool to determine the extremities of the reaching tasks involved. To determine the working parameters within the rescue vehicle, the measurement of all the variables was necessary that indicated various task parameters. The measurement required include the patient compartments within the rescue vehicle, the measurement of the patient, and the sitting positions within the emergency vehicle. Similarly, the measurements of the emergency vehicle were also accounted for. on average, the studies utilized the measurement of such parameters due to the determination of risk factor and the possible posture positions determined by the sitting positions of the emergency medical technicians. The relevance of key measurement of the parameters of the emergency vehicle is due to the imperative nature of their contribution to the posture and angles of task performance they have on the attending technician. For instance, the size of the gurney regarding length and width is a great determinant of the sitting positions in the emergency vehicle (Arial, 2014). Further, the positions that the technicians sit in a relationship with the gurney and the patient compartments in the emergency vehicle determine the movements associated with tasks during patient transit.
The ergonomic evaluation takes the position of the emergency medical technician and all the possible movements that are done during transit from one position to the next. The through the application of the rapid upper limb assessment, the emergency medical technician, was assessed on the movement that is relevant to the health of the patient. In-transit patient care assessment described above indicates the strategies applied in the profession to determine the risk factor that can instill back injuries to the patient. For instance, in the studies conducted indicate the most utilized positions in the emergency vehicle are the bench seat position located at the left side of the patient’s airway and chest and the bucket station at the head of the patient (Gentzler, 2010). The storage compartments of the needed supplies during transit were located in positions relative to the sitting positions.
In transit, patient care is categorical not only in the life of the patient but the well-being of the medical technicians. From the perspective of the evaluation, vertical reach distances are in relative to the equipment stowed above the head of the emergency medical technician and therefore may require them to stand. Nevertheless, the training of the emergency medical technicians requires them not to stand during transit to diminish the risk of injury and in consideration of the space inside the rescue vehicle. However, there is an increased amount of risk involved in the interest of the unanticipated need for the equipment and resources stowed overhead, and the emergency medical technician must stand to retrieve them. Further, the distance between the emergency medical technician and another storage compartment in the vehicle are a great determinant of the risk involved. Bending and stretching while the emergency vehicle is on speed causes unanticipated movement of the body and may cause injuries (Studnek, 2008). For instance, while reaching, the arms extend, and the back bends and the movement of the transit truck cause twisting of the body that may cause back injuries. The degrees of flexion from the waist and shoulders determine the relativity of the risks due to overextension of trunk and shoulder angles indicated using the rapid upper body movement analysis.
Onsite patient care and rescue tasks
The work of the emergency medical technician is not limited to in-transit patient care but also requires the technicians to stabilize the patient onsite before transport. The tasks involved are strenuous and involve the requirement of body strength regarding lifting and also require bending and another body movement. Further, the position of the emergency medical technician is also compromised by the uncertainty of the situation. The situation may range from a simple accident on the road to a collapsed building. In all situation the, emergency personnel are required to move with haste to rescue, stabilize the patient and move the patient to the transport vehicle. In essence, the emergency medical technicians will have to conduct strenuous tasks that put them at the risk of back injuries.
The assessment of the Onsite patient care and rescue tasks takes the perspective of various inset activities that the emergency medical technicians are involved in. Among them is the lifting and movement of the patient and the other involves the stabilization activities before lifting. Stabilization of the patient activities is in close correspondence to the in-transit patient care with the major difference being the absence of a confined space and movement of the truck. Nevertheless, the similarity in the awkward and extreme postures is witnessed in both tasks. The measurement parameters involved in this task will involve the type of equipment used and the heights involved. For instance, the size and height of the gurney in relationship to the bending and rotation movement of the body and arms of the emergency medical technicians will determine the risk degree involved. Therein, in most studies, the relevant, measurable parameters were the height of the gurney and the efficiency of the procedures applied by the technician. For instance, while in a rescue and the patient need to be stabilized and restrained to the gurney, the stretching and bending of the emergency medical technicians are observed. If there are limited technicians onsite, the technician with the patient often overextends and bends to perform the tasks faster instead of moving closer on the other side of the gurney (Arial, 2014). The logic to save time is paramount to saving the life of the patient but nonetheless puts the emergency medical technicians at risk of back injuries.
Secondly, the task involved in lifting and movement requires the emergency medical technicians to apply physical strength needed to perform the activity. The relationships of such task to the equipment available, as well as the efficiency of the equipment and the approaches used are often the assessed as the risk factor. For instance, when the patient is lying on the ground, the emergency medical technicians are required to stabilize the patient first and then prepare the patient for transport. The act of lifting the patient is a great risk factor for back injuries to the emergency medical technicians involved. In most cases, the determinants of the number of emergency technicians to lift a particular person are reliant on on the weight and size of the person. Nevertheless, the technicians are not in a position to measure the weight of the person, and regardless of the weight of the person, the technicians lift the person from the ground to the rescue vehicle (Gentzler, 2010). The emergency medical technicians, therefore, more often than not increasingly strain themselves in order accomplish the task.
The relationship between the task and the equipment deployed is a determinant of the risk degree to the emergency medical technicians. For instance, the use of manually operated equipment in the rescue such as the stretcher requires the application of physical strength. In such a case, for example, the stretcher requires the medical technician to increase the body movement while carrying the patient. The movement involved include bending, standing and walking while carrying the patient on the stretcher. Therefore, the risk factor to injury is increased due to the degree of exertion that the emergency medical technicians apply to achieve the intended tasks. When lifting the patient from the ground, it requires that the emergency medical technicians bend and stand while carrying the patient, the risk is increased due to the weight of the patient, the number of technicians carrying the stretcher and the synchronization of the actions of the technicians involved. When the technicians’ activities are not synchronized the results are increased inefficiency, and a higher risk of back injuries is experienced (Studnek, 2007). When in the usage of other equipment such as a gurney, the efficiency is increased, but the risk factor nevertheless resides on the effectiveness of the apparatus applied in the task actualization.
The activities of the onsite rescue also involve the lifting of objects of uncertain weight to rescue the patient. For instance, in the case of a collapsed building, the emergency medical technicians find themselves in the position that they are to lift objects of uncertain weights to attend to the patients. However, there exists equipment that assists in such kind of rescue activities. Nevertheless, the efficiency and handling of such equipment increase the risk of back injuries to the emergency medical technicians. For instance, the tasks involve the constant movement, bending, while applying physical strength. Increase in strain to the musculoskeletal system of the body is increased due to the activities involved. In most cases, training to handle the equipment is done with no holistic perspective of the relationship between the risk factors of injury to the back of the emergency medical technicians. The rapid upper ram movement is also assessed to increase the risk factor in the process.
Organizational strategy analysis
Reduction of the risk of back injuries is not only achievable through optimization of specific tasks carried out by the emergency medical technicians but also through organizational perspective, administration as well as policies. Within emergency medicine, emergency medical technicians are trained through a system that stipulates the procedures to be followed while treating emergency patients. The protocols applied must not only consider the well-being of the patient but are also responsible for the well-being of the EMT. Therein, through the analysis of the processes, policies and administrative strategies, the risk issues that threaten the health of the emergency medical technicians are established and resolved. In some studies, aimed at the investigation of the organizational contribution to the back injury risk factor, the researchers reviewed the policies and procedures as well as the experiences of the emergency medical technicians with procedures in the event of such incidents (Studnek, 2007). From this perspective, the organizational policies are as liable to the back injuries experienced on the job as much as the activities conducted by the technicians are responsible.
In a study conducted in 2002 in the United Kingdom on the organizational policies guiding the emergency medical technicians’ activities, the research indicated a reduction in the work-related injuries resulting from physical exertions of the technicians due to the implementation of a range of policies. From the perspective, after the area was labeled a high-risk area the risk factor reduced. Nevertheless, little evidence could exist to support the effectiveness of the intervention procedures and protocols. In a comparative analysis conducted on some studies, the applicability of policies and procedures geared towards safety and reduction of back injuries applied to about eighty-eight percent of the safety guidelines from occupational health.
Examinations of risk factors that occur in the workplace are identifiable for policy information when they are adequately reported. Nevertheless, from the review of a number of studies, the emergency medical technicians tend to self-certificate as well as visit the general practitioners within the field without making necessary reporting. The staff in most of the cases are unaware of the occupational risk involved, and therefore, any back injuries that result is taken as personal. Therein, the situation is a problem trigger to the implementation of any organizational policies and procedures. The problem ascends due to the lack of proper and accurate documentation of the back problem as soon as they start (Bernard, 1997). From this perspective, the intervention procedures are limited by the available knowledge and even impede the ability of the emergency medical technicians to get early advice and treatment.
Identification of the efficacy of procedural processes and policies implemented by the organization is only possible when they are utilized by the emergency medical technicians in the organization. Nevertheless, the policies are challenged by the continued seeking of alternative treatments that deplete the functionality of the policies and procedures. For instance, the functional restoration programmes in organizations of emergency medicine are designed for that specific purpose. The utility of other resources outside the organization depletes the functionality of the policy and therefore reduced learning knowledge of the risk factors involved in the work environment.
If there are back injuries that take place in the work environment, the organizational procedures to handle such situations vary from place to place and organization to organization. Nevertheless, there are common similarities that are observed in the referral, treatment as well as a return to work policies and procedures. The policies are placed in order to ensure a healthy workforce and reduced risk of further injuries in the workplace. Disturbingly, the usage of alternative treatments from private practitioners overrides the utility of the policies which otherwise increase the risk of the emergency medical technician being reassigned to the same tasks that might have caused the injury in the first place. The lack of utility of such procedure undercuts the knowledge base that is pertinent in the managerial decisions (Putz-Anderson, 1997). In another perspective, the management of policies and procedures that guide the return to work orders as expected by the occupational health are often slower than expected and therefore deprive the number of workers in the emergency medicine. After a technician returns to work, some recommendations exist for modified duties to safeguard the emergency medical technician form further injuries. Nevertheless, it has been observed that the assignment of roles and responsibility by the management is more often done through the information of other factors. For instance, if there are limited personnel to take up a case, the assignment of tasks will not be informed by the policy in place but rather the people present regardless of their prior history as long as they are in consent.
Recommendations and conclusions
Development of strategies and policies aimed at reduction of back injuries on emergency medical technicians does not only require an investigation informed by the tasks conducted but also the environmental aspects of the tasks. Informed by the discussion above, the perspective of back injuries has several major facets that require being addressed. One is the procedure and method used by the emergency medical technicians to conduct the tasks. The second has to do with the equipment used by the technician to dispense their duties. And finally, the organizational protocols put in place by the organization or the government in the effort to reduce occupational risks.
From the task procedural perspective, information-based techniques should be applied in order to reduce the risk involved. For instance, the emergency medical technicians should develop moving and lift techniques that minimize the strain on the body that can cause back injuries. The techniques employed should be focused on the environmental utility and consideration in order to be implemented in a safe manner. For example, when carrying and moving a patient from a building and using the stairway, the emergency medical technician should utilize the wall by leaning and sliding shoulders against the wall (Hignett, 2007). Such a strategy can be implemented to share the load with the wall and therefore reducing the injury risk factor. Another example implementable to reduce the risk of injury is the distribution of the weight when carrying a stretcher between the lumbar region and the hips by using the belt buckle as a support mechanism. Such strategies are applicable and specific to particular environments. Therefore, the procedures should be aimed at utilization of the environment as helping tool. Strategies utilized in such a manner are imperative to the reduction of awkward postures of the emergency medical technician while conducting duties.
In the utilization of equipment in the work of emergency medicine is among the factors of consideration to reduce the risks for injury. The ambulance or the rescue vehicle is the most common equipment and forms the station where the emergency medical technicians conduct their tasks. The tasks performed and the postures adopted are by design of the emergency vehicle. The design of the compartment to storage of resources utilized need to be informed by the ergonomic evaluation of the tasks conducted in the vehicle. For instance, the emergency bags placement for easier accessibility often reduces the body movement in bending and stretching. Further, the position of compartments in the emergency vehicle should be organized in such a way that the emergency medical technicians use minimal strenuous movement to reach the contents. The question of equipment goes further from the emergency vehicle to the correct handling of the equipment. Working with equipment requires careful and skilled application to deliver the intended function. Cognizant of that, the organizations responsible for the training of emergency medical technicians should include equipment handling (Gentzler, 2010). The training should not only encompass the efficacy of the application tools but also should be cognizant of the ergonomics of the equipment when in use. Similarly, it’s recognized for the large part the equipment plays in ensuring the efficacy of the tasks being conducted. Therein the equipment needs to be regularly fine-tuned to ensure they are working at optimum conditions. The strategy is informed by the continued number of back injuries caused by equipment malfunction as well as the difficulty of performing tasks due to reduced efficacy of the available equipment.
From the policies perspective, the design of the policies ought to be informed by the knowledge and data collected in the field Policies are organizational and managerial tools that should by design give direction to the safety strategies adopted by the emergency medical technicians. Further, their guidelines should inform on the environmental question and utility of ergonomic information collected from the field. From this perspective, regular information should be collected from the field by improvement of both services and the safety of the emergency medical technicians. Information collection not only encourages further research in the field but also informs on the efficacy of the strategies utilized in the field. Reduction of back injuries ought to be a continuous process; therein the agencies and organizations should invest in systems within the routine working procedures that monitor the efficacy of the strategies employed. The benefit of constant monitoring is an identification of problems within the strategies applied in time to make necessary changes before an injury is experienced by the staff. Framework policies within the industry should go beyond the question of injury causation and encompass on the general well-being of the EMT. The policies ought to guide the recovery process through which the emergency medical technicians who suffer from back injuries can cope. Such policies would inform on the nature of injuries and encourage research into back injuries in the industry and consequently injury reduction.
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