MAPO method (Movement and Assistance of Hospital Patient).
Developed by the research group, EPM-Ergonomy of Motion from the ICP CEMOC (Istituto Clínico de Medicina Occupazionale) of Milan, resulting from the analysis of the activity at 200 hospitals in Italy between 1994 and 1997.
A multicenter study was conducted between 2014 and 2016 involving 26 Italian hospitals in the Apulia Region. MAPO method was used to assess the risk of patient manual handling in 116 wards. A total of 1,998 exposed subjects were evaluated for the presence or absence of acute low back pain in the previous 12 months.
Results: Only 12% of the investigated wards fell in the green exposure level (MAPO index = 0.1-1.5), 37% resulted in the average exposure level (MAPO index = 1.51-5) and the remaining 51% in the higher exposure level (MAPO index >5). The results confirmed a positive association between increasing levels of MAPO index and the number of episodes of acute low back pain (adjusted p trend = .001).
MAPO method is an accurate risk assessment tool that identifies and evaluates workplace risks. The proper application of the method significantly improves working conditions.
The MAPO method assesses the risk of moving patients in different work areas of the health centres. It is mainly used in:
- Hospitals
- Care homes for the elderly
- Care homes for patients with chronic pathology
This methodology and its exposure index are aimed at promoting the prevention initiative and to relocate workers with restrictions to carry out this type of task.
This process is facilitated by the possibility of interpreting not only the final exposure index but also by the results of the assessment of each one of the factors that make up the formula.
The resulting MAPO index will represent the service risk, but not the specific risk attributable to these workers.
