Injury Rates and Costs for Direct and Non-Direct Care Employees in Four Public Sector Healthcare Facilities [preprint]

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Shahdev, Chandni ; Kurowski, Alicia ; Punnett, Laura
• Description:
  Objective: This study examines injuries among clinical personnel and understudied staff roles (i.e., dietary, cleaning, security). Methods: Workers' compensation claims from 2017-2019 were analyzed for two state Department of Mental Health Services (DMHS) and two Veteran Care (VC) facilities, including workforce size and demographics, injury/illness claims, and costs. Incident rates and costs were compared by job category and facility type. Results: At DMHS, the highest claim rates were from mental health workers (71/100 full-time equivalents (FTEs)), with assaults, surface wounds, and person-related injuries most common. At VCs, nursing aides had the highest rates (45/100 FTEs), primarily due to patient handling injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, and bodily motion. Some non-direct care workers (e.g., dietary) had similar rates to nurses. Conclusions: These findings suggest that targeted prevention interventions should address injury risks and include non-clinical workers. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Health Personnel
  • Musculoskeletal Diseases
  • Musculoskeletal System
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Workers' Compensation
• Keywords:
  • Health care workers; Workers Compensation; Injuries; Epidemiology; Workplace violence; Patient handling; Musculoskeletal disorders; MSD; Nurses; Housekeeping personnel; Slips, trips, and falls; STF;
  • Author Keywords: Healthcare workers; Work-related injuries; Public Sector; Workers' Compensation; Non-clinical staff safety
• Source:
  J Occup Environ Med 2026 May; :Epub ahead of print
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Boston Region OSHA ; Connecticut ; Massachusetts
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  37 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071661
• Contact Point Address:
  Chandni Shahdev, ScD, Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW) UMass Lowell One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854
• Email:
  Chandni_shahdev@student.uml.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• End Date:
  20260831
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259434/cdc_259434_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.69 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e1cb4ef2f94c92133b4b9c33193520cbd7be8ab58b9fc56bfce5fdb607e94a526bfbf10d908f42a87fbabed5629fe210c2b1a08df83ffa30c2a7001e5fa70c1d