Samenvatting

Among those who exercise the physiotherapy profession in Norway there is focus on using transfer techniques when handling patients. Fontys University of Professional Education (Fontys) in Eindhoven is interested in knowing more about these techniques. For that reason it was given as a proposal for a graduation project to find out more what this is all about.
The objectives of this graduation project have been to give an introduction of what transfer technique is and explain why this is a better method than lifting technique. The main object has been to find out if the transfer technique should be extended in the curriculum at Fontys. The transfer technique method developed by the Norwegian physiotherapist Per Halvor Lunde has been the basis literature for the graduation project.

In addition to the book by Lunde, a literature research has been done in order to map the general emphasis of transfer technique in the global health care sector. All the information gained from the collected literature made the authors capable of comparing and discussing the transfer- and lifting techniques. Biomechanical aspects and proposals for assistive devices were included in the presentation of the transfer technique method. Further, a survey among all the physiotherapy students at Fontys was done to find out what they know about this technique and where they have got their knowledge. They were also asked if they find it necessary to expand the curriculum to include more of the part concerning transfer technique. Responsible persons for the curriculum at Fontys explained about the place of lifting and transferring in the currently used curriculum. Teachers responsible for giving lectures in lifting and transferring at Fontys were asked for their opinion about the curriculum the way it is today. They were also asked if they think that more transfer technique should be involved in the curriculum. Four physiotherapy schools in Norway were contacted to find out about the place of transfer technique in the Norwegian physiotherapy education. The results of the different surveys all together gave a final answer to the main object for the graduation project: 1) The literature research shows a positive trend in the use of transfer technique within the global health care services. 2) 79.3% of the students at Fontys want to learn more about transfer technique in their education. 3) The current curriculum shows a minor emphasis on transfer techniques. 4) All four teachers answering the questionnaire agree to extending the curriculum into more transferring instead of lifting. 5) In Norway all four physiotherapy schools are teaching their students transfer technique following the method of Per Halvor Lunde.
These results taken into consideration, the authors feel capable of stating that transfer technique is an important subject to include in the education for physiotherapists. Using this method decreases the risk of getting work-related- and overloads injuries. The place of transfer technique should therefore be expanded in the curriculum at Fontys. The authors suggest including the method of transfer technique as an ISA-course.