Francesca Valent1, Giulia Liva2, Fabrizio Bellomo3, Daniela De Corti4, Stefania Degan5, Giovanni Cattani6, Ilaria Rosa7, Agnese Mizza8, Silvio Brusaferro9. 1. Regional Health Directorate, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Udine, Italy (Epidemiologic Service). francesca.valent@regione.fvg.it. 2. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Unit of Hygiene and Clinical Epidemiology). liva.giulia@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 3. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Accreditation, Clinical Risk Management and Performance Assessment Unit). bellomo.fabrizio@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 4. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Accreditation, Clinical Risk Management and Performance Assessment Unit). decorti.daniela@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 5. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Accreditation, Clinical Risk Management and Performance Assessment Unit). degan.stefania@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 6. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Accreditation, Clinical Risk Management and Performance Assessment Unit). giovanni.cattani@uniud.it. 7. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Occupational Health Unit). rosa.ilaria@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 8. University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy (Human Resources and Administration Unit). mizza.agnese@aoud.sanita.fvg.it. 9. University of Udine, Udine, Italy (Department of Medical and Biological Sciences). brusaferro.silvio@aoud.sanita.fvg.it.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We explored the association of workplace characteristics with occupational injuries and adverse events in an Italian teaching hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This ecological study was conducted using data routinely collected in the University Hospital of Udine, Northeastern Italy. Poisson regression models were used to investigate, at the hospital unit level, the association between 5 outcomes, including: occupational injuries, patient falls, medication errors, other adverse events and near-misses, and various characteristics of the units. RESULTS: The proportion of female workers in a unit, the average number of sick-leave days and of overtime hours, the number of medical examinations requested by employees, and being a surgical unit were significantly associated with some of the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite ecological nature of the study, which does not allow for inferences to be drawn at the individual level, the results of our study provide useful clues to support strategies and interventions directed towards healthier work environments and better patient care in hospitals. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.
OBJECTIVES: We explored the association of workplace characteristics with occupational injuries and adverse events in an Italian teaching hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This ecological study was conducted using data routinely collected in the University Hospital of Udine, Northeastern Italy. Poisson regression models were used to investigate, at the hospital unit level, the association between 5 outcomes, including: occupational injuries, patient falls, medication errors, other adverse events and near-misses, and various characteristics of the units. RESULTS: The proportion of female workers in a unit, the average number of sick-leave days and of overtime hours, the number of medical examinations requested by employees, and being a surgical unit were significantly associated with some of the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite ecological nature of the study, which does not allow for inferences to be drawn at the individual level, the results of our study provide useful clues to support strategies and interventions directed towards healthier work environments and better patient care in hospitals. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.