Abstract
The healthcare industry in Japan has experienced many cases of work-related injuries, accidents, and workers’ compensation claims because of mental illness. This study examined the influence of supportive and ethical work environments on work-related accidents, injuries, and serious psychological distress among hospital nurses. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to nurses (n = 1114) from 11 hospitals. Valid responses (n = 822, 93% women, mean age = 38.49 ± 10.09 years) were used for analyses. The questionnaire included items addressing basic attributes, work and organizational characteristics, social capital and ethical climate at the workplace, psychological distress, and experience of work-related accidents or injuries in the last half year. The final model of a multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that those who work less than 4 h of overtime per week (OR = 0.313), those who work on days off more than once per month (OR = 0.424), and an exclusive workplace climate (OR = 1.314) were significantly associated with work-related accidents or injuries. Additionally, an exclusive workplace climate (OR = 1.696) elevated the risk of serious psychological distress. To prevent work-related compensation cases, which are caused by these variables, strengthening hospitals’ occupational health and safety is necessary.
Highlights
Compared to other industries, the healthcare industry has significantly higher rates of workrelated accidents, injuries, and illness in many countries [1,2,3]
Considering that the work-related injury rate is a major reason nurses leave the profession [6], it is critically important to intervene in issues of occupational health and safety within the healthcare industry in Japan, a sector that has experienced a chronic shortage of nurses [7]
Our findings, which revealed that an exclusive workplace climate is a risk factor for both the experience of work-related accidents or injuries and serious psychological distress (SPD), underline the importance of promoting supportive and ethical work environments for hospital nurses
Summary
The healthcare industry has significantly higher rates of workrelated accidents, injuries, and illness in many countries [1,2,3]. Among all work-related accidents and injury cases in 2016 in Japan (n = 7361) for which workers needed more than 4 days absence from work, the highest number of cases (n = 1718) was in the healthcare and hygiene industry, whereas there were 1425 cases in the manufacturing industry and 622 cases in the construction sector [3]. Musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain account for more than 60% of injury cases and this trend remained unchanged in the last decade [4,5]. Public Health 2018, 15, 240; doi:10.3390/ijerph15020240 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
