Occupational hazards in home healthcare

Details

• Personal Author:
  Galinsky, Traci ; Hodson, Laura ; Malit, Bonita D. ; Nagy, Henryka ; Parsons, Kelley ; Swanson, Naomi G. ; Waters, Thomas R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Education and Information Division
• Description:
  "An aging population and rising hospital costs have created new and increasing demand for innovative healthcare delivery systems in the United States. Home healthcare provides vital medical assistance to ill, elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons who live in their own homes instead of a healthcare facility, and is one of the most rapidly expanding industries in this country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that home healthcare employment will grow 55% between 2006-2016, making it the fastest growing occupation of the next decade. Home healthcare workers facilitate the rapid and smooth transition of patients from a hospital to a home setting. They offer patients the unique opportunity to receive quality medical care in the comfort of their own homes rather than in a healthcare or nursing facility. Home healthcare workers, while contributing greatly to the well-being of others, face unique risks on the job to their own personal safety and health. During 2007 alone, 27,400 recorded injuries occurred among more than 896,800 home healthcare workers. Home healthcare workers are frequently exposed to a variety of potentially serious or even life-threatening hazards. These dangers include overexertion
  
  stress
  
  guns and other weapons
  
  illegal drugs
  
  verbal abuse and other forms of violence in the home or community
  
  bloodborne pathogens
  
  needlesticks
  
  latex sensitivity
  
  temperature extremes
  
  unhygienic conditions, including lack of water, unclean or hostile animals, and animal waste. Long commutes from worksite to worksite also expose the home healthcare worker to transportation-related risks. This document aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the safety and health risks involved in home healthcare and suggests prevention strategies to reduce the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities that too frequently occur among workers in this industry." - NIOSHTIC-2
  
  NIOSHTIC No 20036410
  
  CDC-INFO Pub ID 211247
  
  
• Content Notes:
  211247
  
  "This document was prepared by the NIOSH Education and Information Division (EID), Paul Schulte, Ph.D., Director. Laura Hodson
  
  Traci Galinsky, Ph.D.
  
  Bonita Malit, M.D.
  
  Henryka Nagy, Ph.D.
  
  Kelley Parsons, Ph.D.
  
  Naomi Swanson, Ph.D.
  
  and Tom Waters, Ph.D. were the principle authors." - p. x
  
  Includes bibliographical references.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2010125
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Pamphlet (or booklet)
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  electronic ; x, 54 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036410
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d92dba4d33f6953da4e2d054bebae511e5f3dccb7f9196db2549886a147e058cbf6b037ad062d514a6c97c493e19424a9066b00ebe07daf5e020e54d3f6a0619
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/5548/cdc_5548_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 789.66 KB ]