Affiliations: VIOSH Australia, School of Science and Engineering,
University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr S. Cowley, VIOSH Australia,
School of Science and Engineering, University of Ballarat, PO Box 663,
Ballarat, Victoria 3353, Australia. Tel.: +61 3 5327 9160; Fax: +61 3 5327
9151; E-mail: s.cowley@ballarat.edu.au
Abstract: Carers of bariatric (morbidly obese) clients are exposed to manual
handling injury risk throughout the journey that such clients take within the
healthcare system. To identify the factors that affect risks associated with
bariatric clients and the subsequent adoption of risk control measures focus
groups were conducted in two Australian state capitals: a suburban region of
Melbourne and a large regional Victorian town. Participants, were recruited
from within the primary health care sector, ambulance services, fire services
and funeral businesses. It was found that the risks to which nurses, ambulance
officers, fire fighters, and funeral industry employees are exposed are
significant. The injury risk is influenced by the nature and design of the
range of environments within which client movement is undertaken; the limited
range of handling equipment available for use with bariatric clients; and the
efficacy of organisational procedures and training. Adoption of risk controls
is hampered by the absence of a standard definition of the term ``bariatric''
and the gaps in information flow during the bariatric client journey through
the health care system. Various definitions of bariatric are applied in
different sectors and there are limitations to the use of both weight and body
mass index in those definitions.
Keywords: Health care, emergency service, funeral, obesity
