National Estimates of Home Care Workers Nonfatal Emergency Department-Treated Injuries, United States 2015-2020.

Abstract

Home care workers (HCWs) are a critical resource contributing to the well-being of others. Presented are data on HCWs nonfatal emergency department (ED)-treated injuries. Nonfatal injuries among HCWs were extracted from the NEISS-Work data between 2015 and 2020. Review of NEISS-Work data indicated 117,000 HCWs with nonfatal ED-treated injuries; female HCWs accounted for 93%. Overexertion and bodily reactions accounted for 52% of the injuries. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 15% and falls, slips, and trips also accounted for 15% of the HCWs ED-treated injuries. The growing demand for home care services is increasing the number of workers at risk for injury. Future analyses should prioritize injury events among HCWs to gain a better understanding of the events contributing to injuries among HCWs.