Overexertion Injuries in Home Health Care Workers and the Need for Ergonomics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Galinsky T ; Malit B ; Waters, Thomas R. ; Galinsky T ; Malit B ; Waters, Thomas R.
• Description:
  Home health care workers have high rates of back injuries and other musculoskeletal problems. This article addresses issues surrounding work-related overexertion injuries in home health care workers, including summaries of relevant research on workers in home settings as well as in traditional health care settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. The main work factors associated with these injuries are forceful exertions and awkward postures during patient- care tasks, especially while lifting and moving patients. Ergonomics-the design of work tasks to best accommodate natural human capabilities-is the most promising approach for preventing injuries, and for enhancing the comfort and safety of workers and patients. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Home Health Care Workers Back-injuries Back Injuries, Musculoskeletal Strain Health-care-personnel Musculoskeletal-system Overexertion Patient Lifting Patient Transfer Devices Workers
• ISSN:
  0162-1424
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; EID - Education and Information Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  57-73
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022196
• Citation:
  Home Health Care Serv Q 2001 Jun; 20(3):57-73
• Contact Point Address:
  Traci Galinsky, PhD, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Mail Stop C-24, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Home Health Care Services Quarterly
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:decfec09a717ed00573d7a8eb4e71a5448f796937f3385e0d8b166138c437303dd3c44abdbfffb60f0adcfcfdd6917edf1633844727349227395d48ad73885cd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199063/cdc_199063_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 263.50 KB ]