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Worker assessments of organizational practices and psychosocial work environment are associated with musculoskeletal injuries in hospital patient care workers
Author(s) -
Reme Silje Endresen,
Shaw William S.,
Boden Leslie I.,
Tveito Torill H.,
O'Day Elizabeth Tucker,
Dennerlein Jack T.,
Sorensen Glorian
Publication year - 2014
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.22319
Subject(s) - psychosocial , medicine , musculoskeletal injury , occupational safety and health , occupational injury , psychological intervention , human factors and ergonomics , workplace violence , musculoskeletal disorder , health care , injury prevention , poison control , suicide prevention , physical therapy , family medicine , nursing , medical emergency , psychiatry , alternative medicine , pathology , economics , economic growth
Background Hospital patient care (PC) workers have high rates of workplace injuries, particularly musculoskeletal injuries. Despite a wide spectrum of documented health hazards, little is known about the association between psychosocial factors at work and OSHA‐recordable musculoskeletal injuries. Methods PC‐workers (n = 1,572, 79%) completed surveys assessing a number of organizational, psychosocial and psychological variables. Associations between the survey responses and injury records were tested using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results A 5% of the PC‐workers had at least one OSHA‐recordable musculoskeletal injury over the year, and the injuries were significantly associated with: organizational factors (lower people‐oriented culture), psychosocial factors (lower supervisor support), and structural factors (job title: being a patient care assistant). Conclusions The results show support for a multifactorial understanding of musculoskeletal injuries in hospital PC‐workers. An increased focus on the various dimensions associated with injury reports, particularly the organizational and psychosocial factors, could contribute to more efficient interventions and programs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:810–818, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.