Adding Injury to Insult: Unfair Treatment at Work and Occupational Injury Among Hospital Patient-Care Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boden LI ; Hopcia K ; Lovett SM ; McTernan ML ; Pan Y ; Peters SE ; Sabbath EL ; Stelson EA ; Wagner, Gregory R.
• Description:
  Background: Hospital patient-care workers have high occupational injury rates. While physical hazards within hospital work environments are established determinants of injury, social exposures may also contribute. This study examined how reports of unfair treatment at work, a dimension of work-related experiences of discrimination, were associated with injury among hospital-based patient-care workers. Methods: We used data from the Boston Hospital Workers Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of nurses and nursing assistants at two Boston-area hospitals. In 2018, we conducted a worker survey asking about three types of unfair treatment at work and occupational injuries during the past year. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models to evaluate associations between specific types, total load, and high-frequency exposure of unfair treatment with injury, adjusting for age, gender, race and ethnicity, job title, and unit type. Results: Among 1001 respondents, 21% reported being humiliated in front of others at work, 28% reported being watched more closely than other workers, and 47% reported having to work twice as hard as others for the same treatment. For each type of unfair treatment, we observed a monotonic relationship with occupational injury wherein increasing frequency of exposure was associated with increased odds of injury. We also observed monotonic relationships between total load and high-frequency exposure to unfair treatment and odds of injury. Conclusions: Work-related unfair treatment is associated with injury among hospital workers. Programs and policies that focus on preventing unfair treatment may lessen injury burden in hospital workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cohort Studies Health Personnel Hospitals Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Healthcare Workers Cohort Studies Discrimination Health Care Workers Hospitals Injuries Longitudinal Study Mistreatment Nurses Occupational Injury Psychosocial Factors Work Environment Workplace Discrimination

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• 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:
  67
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069707
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2024 Jul; 67(7):667-676
• Contact Point Address:
  Erika L. Sabbath, ScD, Boston College School of Social Work, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
• Email:
  erika.sabbath@bc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bca45c6bc8f728f91c22e087800222f319771989cfaa36812a2b0b2cccb33b1a866a3612d93e4e694e9d797081a2dfa728a3c9268b01b6baf9de4aa78d9ddd6c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208080/cdc_208080_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 820.59 KB ]