Safety Tips for Home Health Care Workers

Home nurses and aides are exposed to many of the dangers that hospital workers face -- from tuberculosis to needlestick injuries -- but are working in completely uncontrolled environments, Rhonda Berlin Jarrell, RN, a former home nurse who now works as an injury prevention consultant in Alexandria, Virginia says. As a result, nearly one in 20 home health workers has a job-related illness or injury every year -- a rate approaching that for construction workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Back strain is by far the most common injury among home health workers. In 2007, among the 55,440 reported injuries that resulted in nurses, psychiatric and home health aides having to miss work, more than 21,000 involved back injuries. The risks are particularly high for health aides who have to lift patients from their beds, chairs, toilets, and bathtubs. Moving patients around in their home can be a challenge, and not just because of stairs and clutter, Jarrell says. Many patients don't have the equipment -- such as lifts and adjustable beds -- that can ease the burden on caregivers. And home workers, unlike hospital staff, can't just call a coworker down the hall for help with a particularly heavy load.

Home aides and nurses can protect their backs by encouraging patients and their family members to invest in lifts and adjustable beds. Even more important, Jarrell says, workers should learn the proper body mechanics for lifting, preferably through annual training sessions.

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