Citation

Arlinghaus A, Caban-Martinez AJ, Marino M, Reme SE. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2013; 56(10): 1239-1244.

Affiliation

Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Gesellschaft für Arbeits-, Wirtschafts- und Organisationspsychologische Forschung e.V., Oldenburg, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.22197

PMID

23804500

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Due to the aging population and a shift to patient home care, home health aides (HHAs) are a fast-growing occupation. Since little is known about workplace risk factors for back injuries among HHAs, we examined the role of ergonomic and psychosocial factors in injury reporting among HHAs. METHODS: We used the 2007 U.S. National Home Health Aide Survey data (weighted n = 160,720) to predict the risk of back injuries by use of/need for ergonomic equipment and supervisor support with logistic regression, adjusted for socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: The annual prevalence of back injuries for U.S. HHAs was 5.2%. Injury risk was increased in HHAs reporting the need of additional ergonomic equipment in patient homes, and marginally associated with low reported supervisor support. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement of workplace ergonomic and psychosocial factors could be targeted as a strategy to decrease work-related injuries in HHAs. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en