Research Department: Work & Transformation of Society

Mobilization of elderly or disabled patients is one of the most stressful and physically demanding tasks within nursing (DNQP 2020, BGW 2024). In particular outpatient nursing care faces special challenges, as there are usually no colleagues on site to provide physical support and (electro-mechanical) aids are not provided in all cases. Even though modern technologies such as exoskeletons are nowadays available to reduce the weight of the patients during the mobilization procedures (Strube-Lahmann et al. 2023), the mobilization process remains stressful. In this contribution we will present (1) the conceptual and methodological foundations of a holistic concept for the measurement of stress and strain factors (with the help of sensor technology) for outpatient nursing staff, and (2) the derivation of explorative research approaches for the (further) development of exoskeleton solutions to relieve employees in the outpatient field of activity. In recent years, a number of different exoskeleton systems have been developed that are also intended for use in occupational care (Rayssiguie et al. 2022, Vallée 2024). However, widespread use has not yet been observed. It is currently unclear whether it is only the framework working conditions that are hindering the use of these weight-reducing systems or whether the systems already available on the market do not yet comprehensively address the needs of professional caregivers at different qualification levels.

Biopsychosocial stress, outpatient care, exoskeletons, stress assessment