Effort Required when using Single-Handed Care - column digital

The lack of evidence for techniques used in single-handed care and the perceived effort and associated risks have been identified as a barrier for some people to adopt the techniques (Webb et al 2023). There is a common perception that carrying out care as an individual carer is difficult for carers.

This article from Deborah Harrison looks at a study that aimed to establish the effort required to move an individual using in-bed management systems as a single carer. There are a variety of techniques for moving an individual up the bed and two common techniques for turning the individual in the bed. Establishing the average effort required for each technique will give the assessor a gauge when prescribing single-handed care. This article will describe the process and methodology used. Harrison (2017) identified the perceived challenges by practitioners regarding the lack of specific risk assessment tools and guidance to evidence clinical justification for singlehanded care provision. This study aims to provide an evidence base to “fill the gap” to support practitioners throughout the assessment process for single-handed care provision, evidencing clinical reasoning and promoting best practice. Lane & Dawson (2023).

The full article can be accessed in our member-exclusive journal column digital.

To become a member visit: https://www.nationalbackexchange.org/become-member