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Predictors of shoulder and back injuries in nursing home workers: A prospective study
Author(s) -
Myers Douglas,
Silverstein Barbara,
Nelson Nancy A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10076
Subject(s) - medicine , minimum data set , occupational safety and health , incidence (geometry) , prospective cohort study , physical therapy , rate ratio , back injury , nursing homes , injury prevention , low back pain , nursing , poison control , emergency medicine , confidence interval , surgery , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , optics
Background Nursing assistants (NAs) working in nursing homes have among the highest back and shoulder injury rates in the US. Incidence, severity, and cost of non‐traumatic soft tissue musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing home industry in Washington State are quite high. Methods To determine whether resident characteristics data reported on the Health Care Financing Administration Minimum Data Set (MDS) could be used as a surrogate measure of cumulative exposure to physical loads, we conducted an 18‐month prospective study in one nursing home. Results The combined NA injury incidence rate (IR) was 45.8 self‐reported back and shoulder injuries per 100 [FTE] workers per year. In general, MDS reported resident characteristics failed to predict risk with the exception of exposure to loss of voluntary leg mobility (OR = 1.11 per person‐shifts of exposure, 95% CI [0.97–1.27]), with the highest risk on the day shift (OR = 1.15, 95% CI [0.95–1.40]). Conclusions These findings suggest social integration and work organization issues may be more important predictors of back and shoulder injuries in nursing assistants than reported resident characteristics as measured by the MDS. Am. J. Ind. Med. 41:466–476, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.