{"id":1735,"date":"2024-09-26T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T22:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/hcalabtheoryandpractice\/chapter\/assistive-devices-2\/"},"modified":"2024-10-01T19:25:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T23:25:35","slug":"assistive-devices","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/hcalabtheoryandpractice\/chapter\/assistive-devices\/","title":{"raw":"8.7 Assistive Devices","rendered":"8.7 Assistive Devices"},"content":{"raw":"An [pb_glossary id=\"514\"]assistive device[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0is an object or piece of equipment designed to help a client with activities of daily living, such as a walker, cane, gait belt, or mechanical lift (WHO, 2018). Assistive devices also allow the health care worker to transfer and move clients in a way that reduces risk for injury to themselves and clients. Table 8.7.1 lists some assistive devices found in the hospital and community settings that can be used to help transfer clients in and out of bed and within the bed.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Table 8.7.1 Assistive Devices to Help Transfer Clients In and Out of Bed and Within the Bed[footnote]Data sources: HoverTech International, 2016; Perry et al., 2018. Images retrieved from 3.2 Body Mechanics<\/a> in Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care<\/a> by Glynda Rees Doyle and Jodie Anita McCutcheon, CC BY 4.0<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/caption>\r\n
Type<\/th>\r\nDefinition<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
Gait belt or transfer belt<\/td>\r\nUsed to ensure a good grip on potentially unstable clients. The device provides added stability when transferring clients. It is a 5-mm (2-inch) wide belt, with or without handles, that is placed around a client\u2019s waist and fastened with Velcro. The gait belt must always be applied on top of clothing or gown to protect the client\u2019s skin. A gait belt can be used with clients in both one-person or two-person pivot transfer, or in transfer with a slider board.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1729\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.1<\/strong> Gait belt[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Slider board (stretcher board)<\/td>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1720\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"276\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.2<\/strong> Slider board (red) on a stretcher[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1720\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.3<\/strong> Placing a slider board under a client[\/caption]\r\n\r\nA slider board is used to transfer immobile clients from one surface to another while the client is lying supine. The board assists health care providers move immobile, bariatric, or complex clients more safely.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Mechanical lift<\/td>\r\nA mechanical lift is a hydraulic lift, usually attached to a ceiling, used to move clients who cannot bear weight, who are unpredictable or unreliable, or who have a medical condition that does not allow them to stand or assist with moving.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1730\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"234\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.4<\/strong> Mechanical lift[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Air transfer mattress (HoverMatt)<\/td>\r\nUsing air assisted technology, air transfer mattresses allow caregivers to easily reposition and transfer clients laterally (i.e., bed to stretcher and vice versa). See: Product information for HoverMatt Air Transfer System<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Slider sheets<\/td>\r\nNylon sheets are used under the client. Sometimes the nylon is the undersurface of the transfer sheet. Sometimes a combination of a transfer sheet\u2019s nylon surface in contact with a nylon surface fitted bed sheet can help to reduce friction during client moves in bed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1731\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"264\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.5<\/strong> Slider sheet \/ turning sheet[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Medical trapeze<\/td>\r\nA trapeze positioned above the client near the head of the bed allows the client to grasp and reposition themselves or to help with re-positioning. The trapeze can be fixed to the bed or free standing. They are contraindicated in some situations including new spinal cord injury, post abdominal surgery, and shoulder conditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1732\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"208\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.6<\/strong> Bed trapeze[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Sit to stand lift (STS Lift)\r\n\r\n <\/td>\r\nDevice used to assist clients from a sitting to standing position.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1733\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"216\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.7<\/strong> Sit to stand mechanical lift[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Transfer board<\/td>\r\nTransfer boards (not to be confused with a slider or stretcher board) are small pieces of rigid wood or plastic used to bridge the gap between two surfaces. For example, between a wheelchair and a bed.\r\n\r\nWhen a client is initially learning to use a transfer board, one to two health care workers may use a gait belt to assist. Eventually some clients are able to transfer independently from a wheelchair to bed using a transfer board.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1734\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"239\"]\"\" Figure 8.7.8<\/strong> Slider board for transferring bed to chair and vice versa[\/caption]<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nSpecial considerations:\r\n