Employee Injuries Research Articles

Relationship between anemia and occupational fall injuries in female part-time employees: an observational study of large supermarket stores in Japan.

Occupational fall injuries have recently increased markedly in Japan, together with an increase in later-middle-aged females in the labor market. However, the association between anemia, which is prevalent among Japanese females, and falls is unclear. Here, we investigated the association between anemia and occupational fall injuries. Participants were 6,780 part-time female employees aged 35-64 working in Japanese supermarket stores of a retail company who had at least one health checkup each year between 2017 and 2022. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) <12.0 g/dL (Mild: 11.0-11.9 g/dL, Moderate-severe: Hb<11.0g/dL). Fall injuries were defined as slips, trips and falls on the same level, requiring medical attention based on the occupational injury data by the company. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for falls were estimated using multilevel Poisson regression, adjusting age and body mass index (BMI). The annual rate of occupational fall injuries was 0.7%. The adjusted IRR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for occupational fall injuries among participants with anemia was 1.71 (1.12-2.60). When dividing anemia into two groups, IRR (95%CI) was 1.46 (0.84-2.53) for Mild anemia and 2.13 (1.18-3.84) for Moderate-severe anemia (p for trend=0.007). In this observational study of employees of large Japanese supermarket stores, anemia was significantly associated with a higher incidence of occupational falls. Our findings suggest the importance of anemia in the prevention of occupational falls.

The epidemiology of employee injuries in a monitoring sentinel unit of a coastal area in China:A nine-year retrospective analysis of clinical data

The epidemiology of injury among subgroups of minors, older adults, students, and athletes has previously been investigated; however, studies investigating employee-related injuries are limited. We aimed to retrospectively analyze the epidemiological characteristics and dynamic change trends of injury among employees over a nine-year period in a coastal area in China to provide a reference for formulating injury prevention and control measures among employees. All 14,168 employee injury cases registered in a hospital injury monitoring system were analyzed from January 2013 to December 2021. The male-to-female sex ratio of the employee injury cases was 3.52:1. The floating-to-registered residence population ratio was 2.05:1. March, May, July, and September–October were peak months for employee injuries. Within the day, the injury cases of employees reached five peaks at 0800, 1000, 1500, 1800, and 2000 h. The highest five causes of injury were falling, blunt injuries, motor vehicle accidents, sharps injuries, and non-motor vehicle accidents. The highest five injury types were fracture; concussion or contusion of the brain; injury from a sharp instrument, bite, or open wound; contusion or abrasion; and sprain or strain. The main locations of the injuries were roads and streets, industrial and building sites, and homes. Vulnerable body regions included the upper limbs, lower limbs, head, trunk, and multiple regions. The independent predictors of all outcomes were census register classification; age; injury causes, locations and types; vulnerable body regions; and injury severity; on multivariate logistic regression analysis (P < 0.05). The average durations of missed work in the different injury outcome groups due to injuries among employees were 50.21, 42.57, 44.57, and 38.20 days, respectively. The average number of missed work days due to injuries was 49.77 days, with an increasing annual trend (F = 79.872, P < 0.01). The average hospitalization cost for employee injuries was ¥16250.37, with a decreasing annual trend (F = 4.621, P < 0.01). The average length of hospitalization was 15.22 days, with a decreasing annual trend (F = 76.657, P < 0.01), and the average number of days of missed work due to injuries was 49.77 days, with an increasing annual trend (F = 79.872, P < 0.01). The correlation coefficients showed a significant positive correlation between the average length of hospitalization and average hospitalization expenses, with an increasing trend from 2014 to 2021 (P < 0.05). Most employee injuries occurred in the male and floating populations. Targeted intervention measures should be implemented according to the epidemiological characteristics of injuries in relation to different populations, sexes, and ages to prevent and control injuries.

PREDICTING RISK OF EMPLOYEE INJURY IN A PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL

PURPOSEHealthcare has one of the highest rates of non-fatal occupational injury as compared to other industries. Yet, evaluation of risk determinants and prediction algorithms in hospital settings remains limited. METHODSThis study examines risk factors for employee injuries in a large pediatric hospital and evaluates prediction algorithms using hospital surveillance data, incident reports, and work unit measures such as patient density and employee workload. We employed multiple statistical models and machine learning tools, including logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), penalized logistic regression (PLR), Naïve Bayes, neural network (NN), XGBoost (XG), and mixed-effects logistic regression (GLMER) to predict employee injury risk for specific time periods. We used cross-validation and receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to assess model performance. RESULTSGLMER, LR, and PLR were superior to other models, with higher AUC values (∼0.76), indicating good discrimination ability, though accuracy and specificity varied across models. RF showed high accuracy and specificity and comparable AUC with the top performing models. Further analyses using GLMER revealed variability in employee injury risk across months, days, and hospital units, identifying peaks on Tuesdays and Saturdays and in April and July, with lows in March and June. CONCLUSIONOur findings highlight the significance of monitoring specific risk factors within pediatric hospital settings and pairing them with appropriate predictive algorithms to effectively predict and mitigate employee injuries. These insights indicate that continuous monitoring may help enhance employee safety. Future work should evaluate additional predictors that may be obtained from individual hospital units, which may inform targeted prevention strategies.

From debt breaches to employee safety: The hidden power of banking interventions

This study investigates the influence of bank interventions following breaches of debt covenants on workplace safety. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find robust evidence indicating a substantial decrease in employee injuries after covenant violations. Our channel analysis reveals that the impact of bank interventions is more pronounced when banks perform well in ESG-related employee relationships and take on less risk. Furthermore, the influence of bank interventions is stronger when banks have considerable control over firms and when employees have strong bargaining power. Our findings demonstrate that creditors play an active role in enhancing workplace safety, leading to improved employee welfare. The implications of our research highlight the potential for financial institutions to contribute to socially responsible practices and promote sustainable and safe working environments.

Improving Employee Safety Through a Comprehensive Patient Behavioral Program.

Health care workers in the United States are facing increasing rates of exposure to aggressive behavior, resulting in an increase in employee injuries related specifically to patient behavioral events. By leveraging interprofessional collaboration and system-level innovation, we aimed to reduce the rate of employee injuries related to patient behavioral events at a children's hospital by 50% over a 3-year period. An interdisciplinary quality improvement team comprising physicians, behavior analysts, nursing, and other key stakeholders developed a comprehensive behavior program in our children's hospital. The team developed 5 key pillars: aggression mitigation tools, clinical resources, advanced training, screening and management, and behavior emergency response. The outcome measure was rate of reported employee safety events related to patient behavioral events. This was tracked via prospective time series analysis statistical process control chart using established rules to detect special cause variation. The average rate of employee injuries resulting from patient behavioral events decreased from 0.96 to 0.39 per 1000 adjusted patient-days, with special cause variation observed on a statistical process control U-chart. This improvement has been sustained for 16 months. Staff members who experienced injuries included nurses and patient technicians, with common antecedents to injuries including medical interventions or patient requests that could not be safely met. A unified and multimodal system aimed to address pediatric patient behavioral events can reduce employee injuries and foster a culture of employee safety in the pediatric inpatient setting.

Reducing Physical Restraint Use in the Medical Behavioral Unit.

Children with behavioral health conditions often experience agitation when admitted to children's hospitals. Physical restraint should be used only as a last resort for patient agitation because it endangers the physical and psychological safety of patients and employees. At the medical behavioral unit (MBU) in our children's hospital, we aimed to decrease the weekly rate of physical restraint events per 100 MBU patient-days, independent of patient race, ethnicity, or language, from a baseline mean of 14.0 to <10 within 12 months. Using quality improvement methodology, a multidisciplinary team designed, tested, and implemented interventions including a series of daily deescalation huddles led by a charge behavioral health clinician that facilitated individualized planning for MBU patients with the highest behavioral acuity. We tracked the weekly number of physical restraint events per 100 MBU patient-days as a primary outcome measure, weekly physical restraint event duration as a secondary outcome measure, and MBU employee injuries as a balancing measure. Our cohort included 527 consecutive patients hospitalized in the MBU between January 2021 and January 2023. Our 2021 baseline mean of 14.0 weekly physical restraint events per 100 MBU patient-days decreased to 10.0 during our 2022 intervention period from January through July and 4.1 in August, which was sustained through December. Weekly physical restraint event duration also decreased from 112 to 67 minutes without a change in employee injuries. Multidisciplinary huddles that facilitated daily deescalation planning safely reduced the frequency and duration of physical restraint events in the MBU.

Производственный травматизм в гражданской авиации

Statistical data on the Russian occupational injuries over two decades indicate a reduction in the victims annual number in all the sectors of the country economy from more than 150 thousand employees per year (2000) to 20 thousand (2021). It is shown that the number of fatal accidents during the same time decreased from 4.4 thousand per year to 1 thousand. The authors argue that during the aircraft ground maintenance in civil aviation, the cases of injury to employees and occupational diseases occur in accordance with what happens at the industrial enterprises. Statistics on monitoring working conditions and injury incidents at the aviation enterprises over the past three decades (excluding those injured in aviation accidents) are presented. Based on monitoring data, it is shown that in the period from 2000 to 2021, the rate of decline in the number of employees affected by industrial hazards in civil aviation is approximately 1.5 times higher than the same figure for the country. The results of a statistical analysis of the employee injury causes cases that occurred are described. It is stated that the working conditions characteristic feature of the employees at enterprises and organizations of the country during the period of time under consideration was and remains increased noise levels in the workplaces. At the civil aviation enterprises, the share of people employed in work with such harmful and (or) hazardous working conditions as noise, ultrasound, and infrasound the last decade is about 20 % over. The review is provided concerning the modern methods for reducing the impact of noise on the employees conducting aircraft ground handling operations. Recommendations are given on improving methods for counteracting the noise negative effects, developing personal protective equipment for areas of high noise pollution, and for further research.

Original Research: What Health Care Staff Who Experienced Assisted Patient Falls Can Teach Us: Implications for Fall and Fall Injury Risk.

This quality improvement project had three aims: to identify common assisted falls scenarios, describe staff members' experiences with and risk perceptions of such falls, and explore factors that influenced their perceptions. The overarching goal was to gain useful insight for the development of assisted fall-related strategies and policies. In the fall of 2020, 16 staff members from 13 health care facilities were purposively recruited and interviewed. Transcript summaries of these interviews, along with secondary narrative data from employee and patient injury databases, were analyzed using thematic content analysis. According to staff members' accounts, assisted falls most commonly took place in patient rooms or bathrooms when patients were ambulating or transferring. The interviewees described assisting falls by grabbing or holding the patient or by using their own body to brace or steady the patient. Interview and secondary narrative data noted various injuries that occurred during assisted fall events. These injuries most often involved the lower back (among staff) and the legs (among patients). Most interviewees perceived that using proper body mechanics would prevent injury. Interviewees' experiences with assisted falls indicate areas of improvement for fall prevention. The perception that using proper body mechanics will protect staff from injury may be a misconception. Although the literature reports mixed findings concerning whether staff should assist patient falls, this project's results led us to conclude that there is no safe way to physically assist a falling patient without risk of staff injury.

Implementation of a Children's Hospital Acute Care Behavior Response Team.

Pediatric patients with behavioral needs are frequently admitted to the hospital for medical care; when behavioral crises occur, patients and staff are at risk for injury. Our aim was to implement a behavior response team (BRT) to increase the days between employee injury due to aggressive patient interactions on the inpatient medical units from 99 to 150 over 1 year. A multidisciplinary team used quality improvement methods to design and implement the BRT system that includes 2 options: huddle to proactively plan for patients exhibiting early signs of escalation and STAT for immediate help for patients with imminent risk of harm to self or others. Using run and statistical process control charts, we tracked events per month, days between Occupational Safety & Health Administration-recordable events, and violent restraint use over time for 1 year after implementation. Staff pre and postimplementation surveys were compared to assess staff perception of safety and support provided by the BRT intervention. The BRT was implemented across the inpatient system in July 2020, with an average number of 13 events per month. Days between Occupational Safety & Health Administration-recordable events remained stable with a maximum of 134 days. Restraint use remained stable at 0.74 per 1000 patient days. The perception of behavioral support available to staff increased significantly pre to postsurvey. The implementation of a BRT can improve staff perception of support and confidence in safely caring for patients with behavior needs on the inpatient medical unit, although additional provider- and system-level improvements are needed to prevent employee injuries.

Using wearable technological devices to improve workplace health and safety: An assessment on a sector base with multi-criteria decision-making methods

In occupational health and safety, it is important to use personal protective equipment that reduces or prevents injury to employees during an accident. Advanced sensors and computing technologies that can be worn on the body to create, store and transmit data during daily activities are wearable technology products. These products also make significant contributions to employee health and safety. The use of wearable technologies, which are very important in creating a safe work environment, is seen as a promising solution in contributing to the reduction of accidents and increasing industrial efficiency by increasing employee safety, reducing hazards and risks in sectors where occupational accidents are common.The study, it is aimed to prioritize the use of wearable technology devices in sectors that have potential risks that may cause fatigue, injury, error, and accident of employees due to labor-intensive and challenging tasks. Within the scope of this target, five alternatives and eight criteria were determined in line with the literature research and expert opinions. The criteria weights were determined by the AHP method, and the ranking of the alternatives was made by the AHP and PROMETHEE methods. Alternatives are listed as construction, mining, agriculture, textile, and chemistry. The increase in the use of wearable technology devices in the leading sectors in terms of work accidents and occupational diseases will open a new door to occupational safety and health management in the sectors and will significantly reduce health and safety problems.

On the Issue of Assessing the Levels of Noise and Vibration Impacts on Workers of Industrial Enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Introduction. Ensuring safe and comfortable working conditions is one of the most important tasks in the organization of modern production processes that have a direct impact on employee productivity, injuries and occupational diseases. Despite all the efforts made both at the state and departmental levels, the current state of occupational safety and health of industrial workers in the Republic of Kazakhstan continues to remain at an insufficiently high level. The main cause of occupational injuries and occupational diseases is the impact on working personnel of dangerous and harmful production factors, one of which is an increased level of noise and vibration from production equipment. The authors analyze statistical data on the number of cases of injuries, their types and causes of occurrence in workers by sectors of the economy of the republic. The influence of noise and vibration on the health of workers is considered. It is found that an increased level of noise and vibration effects causes injuries to a lesser extent, and occupational diseases to a greater extent. The work objective is instrumental measurement of noise and vibration levels in the workplaces of production sites of a machine-building enterprise and assessment of working conditions there to develop effective measures to reduce the harmful effects on the health of workers.Materials and Methods. Statistical data on occupational injuries and occupational diseases were used as basic information, as well as the results of instrumental measurements of the level of noise and vibration effects on workers using the methods set out in GOST ISO 9612-2016 and GOST 31319-2006, taking into account Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan of February 16, 2022 № KR DSM-15 «On approval of hygienic standards to physical factors that have an impact on a person».Results. The results of the conducted research allowed us to conclude that about 22.6% of workplaces at production sites are characterized by harmful and dangerous working conditions in terms of noise and vibration effects on workers.Discussion and Conclusion. Based on the results of the study, a plan of priority measures was developed to reduce the harmful effects of increased noise and vibration in the workplace. The authors also recommend a special working regime, benefits and additional payments to employees for working conditions that do not meet safety requirements.

Relative influence of senior managers, direct supervisors, and coworkers on employee injuries and safety behaviors

This paper aims to examine the relative importance of safety support from three sources—senior managers, direct supervisors, and coworkers—in predicting employee injuries and safety behaviors. While previous research has found that each of these three sources of support is related to better employee safety outcomes, they have never been tested simultaneously in the same model. Using Latané’s (1981) social impact theory as a guide, we hypothesized that safety support from coworkers would be more strongly associated with fewer employee injuries and more frequent safety behaviors than safety support from either senior managers or direct supervisors. We tested this hypothesis in three samples of employees in safety-intensive occupations (Studies 1 and 2: N = 307 and N = 123 railway maintenance workers, respectively; Study 3: N = 205 steelworkers) using relative importance analysis. In Study 1, senior managers were the only source of safety support that significantly related to fewer injuries in the presence of the safety support from the other two sources. In Study 2, coworkers were the strongest predictor of safety compliance, and coworkers and direct supervisors were equally important in predicting safety participation. In Study 3, no source emerged as strongest in predicting safety behaviors. Across all studies, no single source of safety support was consistently strongest in predicting injuries, but all sources of safety support played some role among the three samples in predicting fewer injuries and more frequent safety behaviors. These inconsistent findings call into question the utility of social impact theory in predicting the importance of safety support and suggest that features of context may moderate the relationships. Based on these findings, organizations should ensure safety support from all three sources and consider possible conditions under which sources of safety support may play more or less important roles.

Апостериорная оценка статистических показателей производственного травматизма и профессиональной заболеваемости работников строительной отрасли

The current level of injuries and occupational morbidity in the construction industry of the Russian Federation is assessed based on the application of a statistical research method, the essence of which is to provide comparative characteristics of a posteriori quantitative indicators. The ranking of harmful factors of the working environment and the labor process was carried out for reducing the degree of prevalence at the workplaces in construction: severity — chemical factor — biological factor — non-ionizing radiation — vibration (general and local) and tension — aerosols of predominantly fibrogenic action — ionizing radiation — microclimate — noise, air ultrasound, infrasound — light medium. The regularity in distribution of accidents in the studied time interval was revealed, which consists in reducing the frequency coefficient, and the risk of occupational injuries in the construction industry with persistently high rates of fatal injury to employees relative to the largest sectors of economic activity. It is established that the risk of injury for one employee during one year in the construction industry varies from 3.03·10–3 to 1.33·10–3, which is higher than the acceptable risk of 1·10–6. Thus, it is required to develop additional measures to reduce industrial injuries and the severity of the consequences of employee injury. Change in the frequency rate of occupational diseases in the studied time interval is uneven, the maximum was recorded in 2015. A survey was conducted among the employees of construction organizations in the Belgorod region, the problem was identified related to concealing the information about injuries (microtraumas, minor accidents). The implementation of the corrective and preventive measures presented in the work will allow to reduce the likelihood of identified hazards, the level of industrial injuries and occupational morbidity.

Better Safe Than Sorry: CEO Regulatory Focus and Workplace Safety

Research shows that CEOs who are sensitive to maximizing gains (promotion focus) engage in more socially oriented initiatives, while CEOs who are sensitive to avoiding losses or harm (prevention focus) attend more to shareholder concerns. Our point of departure, however, is that many social initiatives are of the “do no harm” type that involve efforts to avoid burdening stakeholders with social and economic costs. Integrating research on strategic leadership and regulatory focus, we develop a framework for understanding the relevance of CEO regulatory focus for workplace safety. We argue that firms with prevention-focused CEOs have fewer employee injuries than firms with promotion-focused CEOs as these latter CEOs impose aggressive workloads on employees. Drawing on regulatory fit theory, we further identify two contextual factors that attenuate or accentuate CEO motivation to pursue harm-reducing or growth-maximizing goals. Whereas analyst downgrades mitigate the influence of prevention focus by motivating CEOs to avoid missing their obligations to shareholders, environmental munificence strengthens the influence of promotion focus on injuries by motivating CEOs to take advantage of growth opportunities in the environment. Based on a sample of S&amp;P 500 firms and injury data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from 2002 to 2011, we find support for our predictions. The results illustrate the unforeseen consequences of CEO regulatory focus on employee interests.

СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЕ МЕР ПО ПРЕДОТВРАЩЕНИЮ ТРАВМАТИЗМА В ОХРАННОМ ПРЕДПРИЯТИИ

The paper presents an analysis of accidents that led to injuries of employees at the enterprise under study and developed measures to prevent them

Coding and applying injury claims data to implement and sustain effective safe patient handling and mobility solutions

Investigating and accurately categorizing employee injury claims are essential for identifying trends and implementing effective solutions. This process is especially important for injuries associated with patient handling injuries (PHIs) for which data is often lacking. This study summarizes how improved coding of injuries for 15 years of workers’ compensation (WC) data was used to improve system-wide injury prevention efforts, in particular those related to safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) practices across an 11-hospital region within the system. Accurate coding of caregiver injuries and implementing SPHM solutions based on this data had a significant impact on accurately identifying risk, implementing injury prevention strategies, and decreasing frequency and severity of employee injuries related to outdated manual patient handling practices.

THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT METHODS OF INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

The program on the quality management system includes a wide range of requirements in the field of labor protection, industrial safety, in accordance with national and international requirements. The introduction of the occupational safety management system into the practice of the enterprise makes it possible to identify industrial hazards, assess the risks of death and injury of employees, as well as develop and implement effective measures to reduce them.

Air-Assisted Technology: A Quality Endeavor to Reduce Employee Injury and Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries.

Continuous quality improvement using Lean methodology engages and values the expertise of the staff close to the patient and the everyday work of caring for them. The patients are not safe if the staff is not safe. Finding the appropriate methodology, where the problem is deeply investigated, respect is visible in the process, and evidence-based decision-making takes place to find safe patient handling solutions for moving lifting and transferring patients was a key objective in this Lean process improvement effort. This article describes the journey taken, the collaboration of 2-unit based councils, and the successful implementation of an air-assisted moving, lifting, and transferring system at a large level 1 quaternary tertiary intercity hospital.

Injury Impoverished: Workplace Accidents, Capitalism, and Law in the Progressive Era

Injury Impoverished: Workplace Accidents, Capitalism, and Law in the Progressive Era

Improvement of Employees’ Working Conditions When Processing Vegetables in Open Ground by the Designing Device for Lifting and Lowering Containers in the Storage

Introduction. Vegetable production is one of the branches of plant cultivation that is distinguished by the specifics of conducting technological processes, characterized by the structural variety of cultivation facilities and special working conditions. Injuries of employees are the serious problem in the workplace now. The body of a worker is exposed to a complex of unfavorable production factors: mineral fertilizers, pesticides and products of their metabolism: heating microclimate, high humidity, significant physical exertion. If agrotechnical techniques are followed, they cannot be a source of deterioration of health. Violation of sanitary and hygienic regulations and technological schemes for growing crops increases the risk of health problems and affects the ability to work.Problem Statement. The task for the study is to develop a simplified design to lower vegetables into storage, improve working conditions and safety of workers. Theoretical Part. Occupational safety improvement in agriculture is necessary, first of all, from the point of the preservation and purpose of the system as a mechanism for protecting the interests of workers, guaranteeing the preservation of their life, health, working capacity in the process of professional activity, as well as for the purpose of agricultural production efficiency. There is an urgent problem of safety when laying vegetables in containers. The main type of injury to workers is occurred during work for eliminating technical and technological failures. Conclusions. As a result of the research, market analysis and evaluation of the competitiveness of the development under consideration, the main distinguishing features of the proposed device from the existing ones are determined. This design can be recommended for further integration into the existing enterprise system, as well as for use in any agricultural enterprises.