OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

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OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

• Every day in America, 12 people go to work and
  never come home
• Every year in America, 3.3 million people will
  suffer a workplace injury from which they may
  never recover
• Disabling injuries costs American employers over
  one billion dollars a week in workers
  compensation costs
• Men are 13 times more likely to die at work than
  women

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OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
  (OSH Act) was passed to prevent workers from
  being killed or seriously harmed at work
• This law created the Occupational Safety and
  Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and
  enforces protective workplace safety and health
  standards
• Under the OSH Act, employers have the
  responsibility to provide a safe workplace
• OSHA is responsible for the health and safety of
  130 million workers employed at more than 8
  million worksites around the nation
• This translates to approximately one compliance
  officer for every 59,000 workers!

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national institute for occupational safety
health

• NIOSH is part of the CDC, established to help
  assure safe and healthful working conditions for
  working men and women by providing research,
  information, education, and training in the field
  of occupational safety and health
• The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA)
  focuses on national research into the problems of
  highest relevance to workers, employers, and
  occupational safety and health practitioners in
  major industrial sectors
• NIOSH has adopted a research-to-practice
  philosophy and strategy, to transfer and
  translate research findings, technologies, and
  information into highly effective prevention
  practices and products that can be adopted
  immediately into the workplace (i.e. safety
  needles)

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2010 TOP 10 CAUSES OF INJURY IN THE WORKPLACE
RANK INJURY OVERALL COST PER YEAR CAUSE OF INJURY NURSES AT RISK?
1. OVEREXERTION 25.7 12.4 BN Injuries caused from excessive lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, or throwing YES
2. SAME LEVEL FALL 13.3 6.4 BN Slip and fall injuries YES
3. FALL TO LOWER LEVEL 10.8 5.3 BN Slip and fall injuries YES
4. BODILY REACTION 10.0 4.8 BN Injuries caused from slipping or tripping without falling YES
5. STRUCK BY OBJECT 8.9 4.3 BN Such as a tool falling on a worker from above NO
6. STRUCK AGAINST OBJECT 6.1 2.5 BN Such as walking into a closing door YES
7. HIGHWAY INCIDENT 4.9 4.9 BN Injury occurs during working hours, or traveling to/from place of work YES
8. COMPRESSED IN/CAUGHT BY 4.4 2.1 BN Caught in or compressed by a machine NO
9. REPETITIVE MOTION 4.0 2.0 BN Injuries due to repeated stress or strain YES
10. ASSAULT / VIOLENT ACT 0.9 0.4 BN Workplace violence YES
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2010 nonfatal occupational injuries illnesses


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6
2010 nonfatal occupational injuries


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7
2010 nonfatal occupational illnesses


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So what does this mean to you as a community
nurse?

• Nurses are at risk for 8/10 of the Top 10 causes
  of workplace injury
• The health care sector ranks 1 in total nonfatal
  occupational injuries and illnesses combined in
  2010 at 52/1,000
• Nursing and residential care facilities rank 1
  in the highest incidence rate of total nonfatal
  occupational injury and illness cases in 2010 at
  15.1/1,000
• Hospitals injury and illness cases ranked 5 in
  2010 at 11.8/1,000
• Ambulance services ranked 10 in 2010 at
  10.8/1,000
• Working in healthcare can be dangerous to your
  health!

Take home message
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Media highlights

• Google workplace injury and youll find law
  firms ranking ahead of OSHA. Not necessarily an
  inspiring preventative health care message for
  the public

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Media highlights

• For the most part, workplace injuries only become
  newsworthy if they are catastrophic and/or result
  in multiple fatalities rarely are individual
  cases reported upon in the national media
• Major events reported on last year included the
  West Virginia coal mine explosion, which killed
  25 workers and left another four unaccounted for
  in the worst mining disaster since 1984, and the
  Deepwater Horizon explosion, which left 11 dead
  and numerous injured
• USMWF (United Support and Memorial for Workplace
  Fatalities) offers support, guidance and
  resources to those affected by preventable
  work-related deaths or serious injuries
• USMWF report a Weekly Toll of fatalities with
  local media coverage if available

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Implications for community Health nursing practice
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Implications for community Health nursing practice
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Implications for community Health nursing practice

• In order to be a good role model, make your own
  health as a health care worker your 1 priority
• Be mindful of your own exposure to the potential
  for workplace illness and injury, especially
  working within the community health care setting
• Be knowledgeable about local resources for legal,
  financial, and healthcare support for community
  members affected by workplace illness or injury
• Occupational and physical therapy, as well as
  mental health services (counseling for PTSD,
  stress, fatigue, depression, etc.) play a key
  role in caring for an individual affected by a
  workplace injury once the initial medical crisis
  is over interdisciplinary teamwork is essential
  for this recovering population
• Appreciate that a workplace injury can affect an
  entire family dynamic, putting incredible
  emotional, and often financial, stress on all
  family members empathetic and nonjudgmental
  communication skills are imperative to an ongoing
  successful nurse-patient relationship

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What personal or employment experiences of
illness and injury in the workplace can you share?

• What was the event?
• What health care disciplines were utilized in the
  recovery process?
• Who else did it affect?
• How long was the recovery process?
• What was the financial cost?
• What was the emotional cost?
• What was the outcome?

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THANK YOU FOR SHARING your experienceswork
safeclass of 2012!
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REFERENCES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2011). National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health. Occupational Hazards in Home
Health Care. Retrieved November 16, 2011 from
lthttp//www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-125/pdfs/2010-
125.pdfgt Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. (2011). National Vital Statistics
Report. Deaths Final Data for 2007. Retrieved
November 16, 2011 from lthttp//www.cdc.gov/nchs/da
ta/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdfgt Child and Elder
Care Insights. (2011). Safety PostersTop 10
Causes of Workplace Injuries. Retrieved November
16, 2011 from lthttp//www.eaposters.com/safetypost
ers_top10.htmgt Team 4 Investigation. (2010, May
24). Companies With High Workplace Injury Rates
Get 'DART' Letters. Retrieved November 16, 2011
from lthttp//www.youtube.com/watch?vq3thGDkqFCs
gt United Support and Memorial for Workplace
Fatalities. (2007). Weekly Toll. Retrieved
November 16, 2011 from lthttp//usmwf.org/about.htm
gt U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. (2011). 2010 Survey of Occupational
Injuries Illnesses. Retrieved November 16, 2011
from lthttp//www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/osch0044
.pdfgt U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. (2011). Highest incidence rates of
total nonfatal occupational injury and illness
cases, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2011 from
gthttp//www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/ostb2801.pdfgt