Evaluation of Ergonomic Aspects of Meal Trolleys in Jazan Region Hospitals to Ameliorate Musculoskeletal Disorder

In hospitals trolleys are used for carrying meals, medicines and other deliveries to the in-patients who are hospitalized. Normally, the trolleys are ordered and purchased from vendors who have little knowledge about ergonomic principles. Many a time even manufacturers of trolleys and other medical equipment may not have used ergonomic guidelines strictly to ensure quality product conforming to the best cart dimensions thus increasing the risk of MSD among the meal trolley users. The present research pertains to conduct of ergonomic evaluation of the meal trolleys currently being used in Jazan region hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ten hospitals were chosen with each having over 100 beds in inpatient ward; each had an emergency ward and outpatient department (OPD) ward; and each had specialists and consultant doctors. Out of 85 respondents who participated in the study, 60 responded within the time frame. This sample consisted of 35 expats from India and Philippines, and 25 Saudi nationals. A questionnaire based on ergonomic requirements was administered, reinforced with an interview, to the sample to elicit their response on two major factors: Operational survey and biomechanical survey. The former was to enquire what they felt about the operational aspect of using the trolley, and the latter was to determine what physical pain, if any, the present design caused to different parts of the body. The responses from the questionnaires showed that some design aspects of the existing hospital meal trolleys need to be looked for improvement to reduce MSDs, viz. the position of the handle was of concern to the users, hence the need for repositioning the handle to accommodate both 5% tile users and 95% tile users; and incorporating the braking system in order to ease the halting of the trolley in case of emergency and to reduce the force required to bring the trolley to stop.