Health of Healthcare Workers
Ask yourself what the most common, costly, and of unintentional injury workplace. What comes to mind? Back stretch? Carpal tunnel? Both of these fall under the category of musculoskeletal system (MSDS) – the correct answer. Most jobs involve postures or movements, which, without proper ergonomics, easily lead to chronic or acute pain. Certain occupations that require heavy labor, like construction or handling, put employees at greater risk of injury. However, more general, less obvious trade is consistently ranked among the highest reported incidents, MSDS and MSDS involving missed work: care.
AIDS Care, orderlies and attendants – the very people who help others in pain – have suffered work-related MSDS as much as seven times higher than the national average for all other occupations. Simple tasks such as creating beds require constant bending and stretching, both of which contribute to chronic pain. Even more damaging is the frequent lifting, transferring, and repositioning of patients. In other studies, which require as frequent lifting, secure elevator limit is only 35 pounds. Hospital patients usually weigh more than 100. In the eight-hour shift, the cumulative weight of health care workers may need to raise about 1.8 tons. It is not surprising that there is a nursing shortage. Health workers in the short-staffed facilities are under even greater physical demand, because they are picking up the slack from the loss of personnel. Thus, the cycle continues.
As a result, costs of work-related MSDS to go beyond the worker’s compensation. In support of a nurse and a health care worker protection law in 2009, a coalition of health care workers and patient safety (chapter), said that 38 percent of nurses suffer from work-related back pain significant enough to require leave from work. In addition, 52 percent reported chronic back pain, and 1 in 3 nurses under the age of 30 is planning to quit my job next year because of severe physical nature of the work. Even students suffer MSDS, which affects their career. Depending on how much a person is in the field when he or she leaves, not only the loss of revenue issue, but also time and cost of education and health care for lasting pain. In fact, nurses suffering from work-related MSDS may not even qualify for worker’s compensation, as is often the disorder is the result of years of recovery and not one drop.
The risk of injury extends to patients as well. Health workers performance of physical tasks, while the pain is more likely to harm their patients. If the object is incomplete, patients may not even receive the attention that should be treated.
Years of research and incidents of health-related MSDS led to positive changes. Legislation is no stranger to the proposed bills that require a security training and lifting equipment in health facilities safe patient handling and movement concepts were implemented in the nursing curriculum. Research on return on investment for safe processing equipment was also positive. In 2007, researchers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has begun an 18-month study programs safely lift a patient. They reported that all direct and indirect costs associated with the safe recovery program were recouped in less than 5 years.
Current initiatives to minimize work-related MSDS in the healthcare industry will help pave the way for other professions material manual handling. Safety training, along with ergonomic improvements to significantly reduce injuries and associated costs – the cost to the employee, employer and insurance companies. These solutions are real and readily available. In an economy that can not afford to jeopardize the continued existence or recruitment of any work, these solutions can not be more important.