# Safe Patient Handling Musculoskeletal Injury-Prevention Smartphone App for Community Health Care Workers: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

## TL;DR

A smartphone app called SPH MSIP was developed and tested to help community health care workers avoid musculoskeletal injuries by providing real-time guidance during patient handling tasks.

## Contribution

The study introduces a user-centered smartphone app designed to address unmet safe patient handling needs of community health care workers through co-design and mixed methods evaluation.

## Key findings

- Community health care workers identified barriers like lack of training and isolation during tasks.
- The SPH MSIP app exceeded recruitment, retention, and satisfaction success criteria during a one-month trial.
- Qualitative feedback highlighted the app's practical value, usability, and step-by-step guidance for high-risk tasks.

## Abstract

Safe patient handling is critical for reducing musculoskeletal injuries among health care workers; yet, community health care workers often face barriers such as limited access to training and real-time resources.

This study had three objectives: (1) provide detailed insights into the unmet needs of Island Health community health care workers with respect to safe patient handling resources and access to information, (2) translate those needs into a user-centered prototype of the Safe Patient Handling Musculoskeletal Injury-Prevention (SPH MSIP) smartphone app through an iterative co-design process, and (3) establish the acceptability and feasibility of SPH MSIP app to support community health care workers’ safe patient handling practices using a mixed methods design.

A 3-phase participatory study was conducted. Phase 1 identified unmet safe patient handling needs through participatory meetings with 6 community health care workers, aligning with objective 1. Phase 2 involved developing the SPH MSIP app using co-design methods, integrating user feedback to address challenges such as guidance for high-risk tasks and intuitive design, addressing objective 2. Phase 3 evaluated the app’s feasibility and acceptability, aligning with objective 3. The study recruited 28 participants who used the app for one month. A single-group mixed methods design was used, incorporating quantitative metrics such as recruitment (≥50%), retention (≥75%), and satisfaction (mean score ≥4). Qualitative feedback was gathered through small-group interviews to understand usability, usefulness, and integration into workflows.

In phase 1, community health care workers identified barriers, including limited safe patient handling, refresher training, and isolation during tasks. In phase 2, the app was developed to address these safe patient handling needs, incorporating features like scenario-specific guidance for high-risk tasks. In phase 3, the app exceeded success criteria for recruitment, retention, and satisfaction, with participants highlighting its usefulness, usability, and adoption. Qualitative feedback emphasized the app’s practical value as a real-time resource, particularly its step-by-step guidance and user-friendly design.

This study met its objectives, highlighting the SPH MSIP app’s potential to address community health care workers’ unmet safe patient handling needs and improve support in real time patient handling scenarios. While the findings suggest strong feasibility and acceptability, future research should focus on large-scale, extended effectiveness trials to evaluate the app’s impact on reducing musculoskeletal injury rates and improving patient care outcomes.