Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct;56(10):1239-44.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.22197. Epub 2013 Jun 26.

The role of ergonomic and psychosocial workplace factors in the reporting of back injuries among U.S. home health aides

Anna Arlinghaus  1 , Alberto J Caban-Martinez, Miguel Marino, Silje Endresen Reme
Affiliations

The role of ergonomic and psychosocial workplace factors in the reporting of back injuries among U.S. home health aides

Anna Arlinghaus et al. Am J Ind Med. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Due to the aging population and a shift to patient home care, home health aides (HHAs) are a fast-growing occupation. Since little is known about workplace risk factors for back injuries among HHAs, we examined the role of ergonomic and psychosocial factors in injury reporting among HHAs.

Methods: We used the 2007 U.S. National Home Health Aide Survey data (weighted n = 160,720) to predict the risk of back injuries by use of/need for ergonomic equipment and supervisor support with logistic regression, adjusted for socio-demographic variables.

Results: The annual prevalence of back injuries for U.S. HHAs was 5.2%. Injury risk was increased in HHAs reporting the need of additional ergonomic equipment in patient homes, and marginally associated with low reported supervisor support.

Conclusions: Improvement of workplace ergonomic and psychosocial factors could be targeted as a strategy to decrease work-related injuries in HHAs.

Keywords: epidemiology; home health aides; injury; occupational health; social support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors wish to express that they have no financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aronson J, Neysmith SM. “You’re not just in there to do the work”: Depersonalizing policies and the exploitation of home care workers’ labor. Gender Soc. 1996;10:59–77.
    1. Bercovitz A, Moss AJ, Sengupta M, Harris-Kojetin LD, Squillace MR, Rosenoff E, Branden L. Design and operation of the national home health aide survey: 2007–2008. Vital Health Stat. 2010;1:1–94. - PubMed
    1. Bohle P, Finn J, Quinlan M, Rawlings-Way O. The occupational health and safety of homecare contract workers in Adelaide and the Barossa region. 2009. Report prepared for The South Australian Office of the Employee Ombudsman.
    1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational outlook handbook 2008–2009. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2008.
    1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational outlook handbook, 2012–13, Home Health and Personal Care Aides. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2012. [accessed October 20, 2012]. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home-health-and-personal-care-aides.htm.

Publication types