Effects of Brake Pedal Horizontal Location of Hospital Beds on Force Exertions and Work Efficiency

摘要

The brake pedal on hospital beds is critical during bed maneuvering, however, substantial force andrnawkward postures are usually required during pedal engagement tasks. Nine professional caregivers werernrecruited to investigate how brake pedal horizontal location affected maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)rnforce, acceptable force to engage the pedal (AFE), force efficiency and task completion time. The resultsrndemonstrated reduced MVC, AFE and force efficiency whereas increased task completion time withrngreater pedal depths. Pedal depth was significantly correlated with MVC, force efficiency and taskrncompletion time and these correlations are moderate (0.25≤r<0.50) or good (0.50≤r<075). These findingsrnprovide important information for hospital bed design.