Different Injury Rates

To ident@ high risk areas for back injury in a large teaching hospital, we calculated standard injury rates and newly developed composite statistics for nursing and non-nursing work groups. Data were extracted from the hospital’s workers’ compensation database. The hospital-wide total injury rate was 4.6 reports per 100 full-time equivalents (FTE); Compensation Case Rate, 1.4 cases per 100 IT?; Compensation Severity Rate, 76 days lost per 100 FTE; and the Cost Rate, $3742 per 100 FTE. The Total Injuy Reports Rate for nursing varied from 14.2 per 100 FTE for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nursing to 3.8 per 100 FTE for Pediatric Nursing. Non-nursing areas also demonstrated increased rates for back injury. Individual statistical rates ranked areas differently in risk, whereas composite statistical measures consistently ranked ICU Nursing, Buildings and Grounds, and Orthopedics/Neurolo@cal Nursing as the top three. Patient handling was the precipitating event in the majority of nursing back injuries, indicating the need for ergonomic intervention. The use of combined statistical measures provided a more integrative measure for describing and following back injury risk over time. calculated to be between 10 to 25 billion dollars per year in the United States.2-4 Health care workers, particularly nurses, have been identified as one of the highest-risk groups. In the Occupational Health Supplement to the 1988 National Health Interview Survey, four health care occupational groups were listed among the top 15 high-risk occupations for back pain in female employees, on the basis of self-reported back pain and national estimates of workers at high risk.5 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants were the highest-risk group (prevalence 18.8%), and licensed practical nurses were second (prevalence 16.3%). Additional studies have also confirmed the increased prevalence of back injuries among nurses.6’7 Other hospital workers, such as building and grounds and maintenance workers, have also been reported to be at risk for back injuries.s