Slips, Trips, and Falls Among Home Care Aides

Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 2018

To address the gap of knowledge about slips, trips, and falls (STFs) among home care aides (HCAs) who work in clients' homes. This mixed method study used survey and focus group data of HCAs in a Medicaid-funded homecare program. STFs were common with over 12% of HCAs reporting occurrence in the previous 12 months. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated higher STF risks among African Americans than non-African Americans, and among those with higher workload or higher education. Focus group data explained the reasons for not reporting STFs, even among those who sustained injury, and added HCAs' voices to the understanding of causes, consequences and prevention strategies for STFs. Empowering HCAs with knowledge, training and involvement may transform "near miss" STFs into opportunities to prevent STFs among care workers and their clients.

New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS, 2018

Home Care Aides (HCAs) have nearly four times the rate of injury as the general U.S. work force. In 2015, the Service Employees International Union 775 Benefits Group conducted a health and safety survey with 672 HCAs in Washington State. The goal was to identify the risk factors for injury and to better assess injury rates through self-report. Quantitative analyses assessed injury prevalence and barriers in reporting injury. Overall, 13 percent responded that they had ever had an injury that required medical attention while working as an HCA. These rates are significantly higher for HCAs employed by home care agencies compared with HCAs who work independently. Over a third reported moderate to high levels of hesitancy in reporting an on-the-job injury; these rates were even higher for independent providers. Study findings suggest that HCAs are well informed about appropriate next steps following workplace injury, but strong barriers may prevent them from attempting the reporting pr...

Current Environmental Health Reports

Purpose of Review To identify important home care (HC) aide occupational safety and health (OSH) hazards and examine how addressing these can improve aide health and the delivery of HC services overall. Specifically, this review seeks to answer: Why is HC aide OSH important? What are the most significant OSH challenges? How can improving HC aide OSH also improve the safety and health of their clients? What implications do the findings have for future research? Recent Findings HC is one of the fastest growing US industries. Aides comprise its largest workforce and are increasingly needed to care for the rapidly aging population. There is an aide shortage due in part to instabilities in HC work organization and to serious job-specific hazards, resulting in aides losing work time. Recent social, economic, and technological factors are rapidly changing the nature of HC work, creating OSH hazards similar to those found in nursing homes. At the same time, aides are experiencing social and...

Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2008

Objective: To determine whether home care clients have accessed or been influenced by fall prevention programs. Methods: Mail survey of 4743 home care clients from several home care agencies. Results: Among the clients, 47.2% completed the survey and 46% had fallen within the last year. Faller and non-fallers differed in attitude to falls and fall risk factors. Only 15% of fallers and 7% of non-fallers had taken part in a fall prevention program and only 8% knew how to access information about such activities. Conclusions: Fall prevention strategies should be targeted at the home care population. Such programs should take into consideration the specific needs of this group.

International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2012

Background. Quality health care in the home is dependent on having a safe environment to provide care. This analysis is based on the data from a larger study aimed at understanding key issues in the delivery and receipt of home support services from the perspectives of home support workers (HSWs), older adult clients and family members. This analysis focuses on HSWs perspectives of safety. Objective. To explore the types and patterns of safety concerns staff encountered in home care settings. Design. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with HSWs. The analysis included topic and analytical coding of workers' verbatim accounts. Setting. Interviews were completed in British Columbia, Canada. Participants. A total of 115 HSWs participated. The average age was 50 years, and the average tenure in this sector was 11.5 years. Fully, 71% of workers had completed at least some college-level education, and 69% of workers were born outside of Canada. Results. Workers identified four types of safety concerns: physical, spatial, interpersonal and temporal. We developed a conceptual model of HSW safety that demonstrates the: types of safety concerns; the multi-dimensional and intersectional nature of safety concerns and the factors that intensify or mitigate safety concerns. Conclusions. Our study identifies numerous HSW safety concerns, each requiring tailored interventions and strategies. Where multiple concerns intersect, the complexity and precarious nature of the home care workspace is revealed. The identification of mitigating and intensifying factors points to future interventions.

Workplace Health & Safety, 2013

WMJ : official publication of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, 2013

Many nursing home fall injuries are believed to be preventable. Little is known about the fall prevention activities nursing homes are using. We conducted a census of all nursing homes in 6 Wisconsin counties by mailing a needs assessment to administrators and directors of nursing. Later we mailed a report of the results, an information intervention (an annotated list of falls management resources), and a follow-up questionnaire. Respondents believed that the most important barriers to better falls management in typical Wisconsin nursing homes were the fall-prone character of the population (80%), followed by the need for staff to communicate changes in a resident's condition better and more quickly (58%). Most felt that the components they needed to improve in their own nursing home were training for new staff (71%) and communicating any immediate care plan changes (65%). Respondents reported getting useful fall prevention information in the last year from in-house physical and...

The Gerontologist, 2012

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2015

Objectives In countries with ageing populations, home care (HC) aides are among the fastest growing jobs. There are few quantitative studies of HC occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions. The objectives of this study were to: (1) assess quantitatively the OSH hazards and benefits for a wide range of HC working conditions, and (2) compare OSH experiences of HC aides who are employed via different medical and social services systems in Massachusetts, USA. Methods HC aides were recruited for a survey via agencies that employ aides and schedule their visits with clients, and through a labour union of aides employed directly by clients or their families. The questionnaire included detailed questions about the most recent HC visits, as well as about individual aides' OSH experiences.

Introduction: Home health care is the fastest growing sector in the health care industry, with an anticipated growth of 66 percent over the next 10 years and with over 7 million patients served each year. With the increasing acuteness of care provided in home health care and the increasing number of frail elderly that make up this patient population, it is important to identify risk factors that affect patient health and safety in this setting. Methods: A convenience sample of 1,561 home health aides, attendants, and personal care workers completed a risk assessment survey. Items addressed personal, patient, and home characteristics and health hazards. All activities had prior Institutional Review Board approval. Preliminary Results: Ninety-five percent of home health care workers (HHCWs) were female with an average of 8 years experience. The majority of clients were elderly, with a smaller percentage of adult (26 percent) and pediatric (7 percent) cases. HHCWs reported the followin...