Patient handling tasks (e.g., transportation and repositioning) are important causes of musculoskeletal
disorders among healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, during two patient
handling tasks, the physical demands resulting from alternative hospital bed design features. Twentyfour
novice participants were involved in two laboratory-based studies. The effects of a steering lock
and adjustable push height were evaluated during a patient transportation task using perceptual
responses and measures of performance and physical demands, and the effect of a bed contour feature
was determined based on patient sliding distance during repeated bed raising/lowering.