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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1239-1244 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | American Journal of Industrial Medicine |
Volume | 56 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2013 |
Keywords
- Epidemiology
- Home health aides
- Injury
- Occupational health
- Social support
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health