Am J Ind Med. 2014 Jul;57(7):810-8. doi: 10.1002/ajim.22319. Epub 2014 Apr 15.

Worker assessments of organizational practices and psychosocial work environment are associated with musculoskeletal injuries in hospital patient care workers.

Reme SE¹, Shaw WS, Boden LI, Tveito TH, O'Day ET, Dennerlein JT, Sorensen G.

Author information

1: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Uni Health, Uni Research AS, Bergen, Norway.

Abstract

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.

KEYWORDS:

OSHA recordable injuries; hospital patient care workers; multifactorial understanding; musculoskeletal injuries; organizational factors; psychosocial work environment