Workplace musculoskeletal injuries due to patient handling and movement (PHM) are a significant occupational hazard for healthcare workers in the United States. Study authors Ahmed Gomaa, MD, ScD; Matthew R. Groenewold, PhD, MSPH; Kelly Vanoli; Susan Nowlin; and Stacey Marovich, MHI, MS, PMP, MCTS analyzed workplace musculoskeletal injuries surveillance data submitted by 116 hospitals participating in the Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN) from 2012 to 2016. The detailed analysis of patient injury data showed nursing assistants, radiology technicians, and nurses are at the highest risk for injury. Improved data collection is needed to improve safe patient handling programs (SPHPs), and surveillance information is key for providing evidence on all aspects of SPHP.

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence is a substantial occupational hazard for healthcare workers in the United States. METHODS: We analyzed workplace violence injury surveillance data submitted by hospitals participating in the Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN) from 2012 to 2015. RESULTS: Data were frequently missing for several important variables. Nursing assistants (14.89, 95%CI 10.12-21.91) and nurses (8.05, 95%CI 6.14-10.55) had the highest crude workplace violence injury rates per 1000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. Nursing assistants' (IRR 2.82, 95%CI 2.36-3.36) and nurses' (IRR 1.70, 95%CI 1.45-1.99) adjusted workplace violence injury rates were significantly higher than those of non-patient care personnel. On average, the overall rate of workplace violence injury among OHSN-participating hospitals increased by 23% annually during the study period. CONCLUSION: Improved data collection is needed for OHSN to realize its full potential. Workplace violence is a serious, increasingly common problem in OHSN-participating hospitals. Nursing assistants and nurses have the highest injury risk.

In 2013, one in five reported nonfatal occupational injuries occurred among workers in the health care and social assistance industry, the highest number of such injuries reported for all private industries. In 2011, U.S. health care personnel experienced seven times the national rate of musculoskeletal disorders compared with all other private sector workers. To reduce the number of preventable injuries among health care personnel, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), with collaborating partners, created the Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN) to collect detailed injury data to help target prevention efforts. OHSN, a free, voluntary surveillance system for health care facilities, enables prompt and secure tracking of occupational injuries by type, occupation, location, and risk factors. This report describes OHSN and reports on current findings for three types of injuries. A total of 112 U.S. facilities reported 10,680 OSHA-recordable* patient handling and movement (4,674 injuries); slips, trips, and falls (3,972 injuries); and workplace violence (2,034 injuries) injuries occurring from January 1, 2012-September 30, 2014. Incidence rates for patient handling; slips, trips, and falls; and workplace violence were 11.3, 9.6, and 4.9 incidents per 10,000 worker-months,dagger respectively. Nurse assistants and nurses had the highest injury rates of all occupations examined. Focused interventions could mitigate some injuries. Data analyzed through OHSN identify where resources, such as lifting equipment and training, can be directed to potentially reduce patient handling injuries. Using OHSN can guide institutional and national interventions to protect health care personnel from common, disabling, preventable injuries.