A growing fire hazard concern in communities: home oxygen therapy and continued smoking habits

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fantasia LM ; Galligan CJ ; Gore RJ ; Markkanen PK ; Quinn, Margaret M. ; Sama SR
• Description:
  The Safe Home Care Project investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively a range of occupational safety and health hazards, as well as injury and illness prevention practices, among home care aides in Massachusetts. This article reports on a hazard identified by aides during the study's initial focus groups: smoking by home care clients on long-term oxygen therapy. Following the qualitative phase we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 1,249 aides and found that medical oxygen was present in 9 percent of aide visits (314 of aides' 3,484 recent client visits) and that 25 percent of clients on oxygen therapy were described as smokers. Based on our findings, the Board of Health in a local town conducted a pilot study to address fire hazards related to medical oxygen. Medical oxygen combined with smoking or other sources of ignition is a serious fire and explosion hazard that threatens not only workers who visit homes but also communities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Delivery Of Health Care Fires Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Smokers
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Medical Oxygen Fire-hazards Fire Hazards Health-care-personnel Health-hazards Home Care Medical-care Medical-personnel Medical-services Medical-treatment Nurses Oxygen-therapy Smoking

  More +
• ISSN:
  1048-2911
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046651
• Citation:
  New Solut 2015 Feb; 24(4):535-554
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of Massachusetts - Lowell
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040901
• Source Full Name:
  New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy
• End Date:
  20230831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b078abff0a9b84afc012286112544ae31b3af96eeaae05e639b01b40fd881e78a096b411d866a01f5ac45d42744c81b03853e6828f9cda5ce6895cb36eb729f0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202013/cdc_202013_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 156.23 KB ]