Erika L Sabbath1, Jie Yang1, Jack T Dennerlein1, Leslie I Boden1, Dean Hashimoto1, Glorian Sorensen1. 1. Erika L. Sabbath is with the School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. At the time of the study, Jie Yang was with the School of Social Work, Boston College, and is also with the School of Social Work, East Carolina University, Greenville. Jack T. Dennerlein is with the Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Leslie I. Boden is with the Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston. Dean Hashimoto is with Partners HealthCare, Somerville, MA. Glorian Sorensen is with the Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To test whether a comprehensive safe patient-handling intervention, which successfully reduced overall injury rates among hospital workers in a prior study, was differentially effective for higher-wage workers (nurses) versus low-wage workers (patient care associates [PCAs]). METHODS: Data were from a cohort of nurses and PCAs at 2 large hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. One hospital received the intervention in 2013; the other did not. Using longitudinal survey data from 2012 and 2014 plus longitudinal administrative injury and payroll data, we tested for socioeconomic differences in changes in self-reported safe patient-handling practices, and for socioeconomic differences in changes in injury rates using administrative data. RESULTS: After the intervention, improvements in self-reported patient-handling practices were equivalent for PCAs and for nurses. However, in administrative data, lifting and exertion injuries decreased among nurses (rate ratio [RR] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.41, 1.00) but not PCAs (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 0.74,1.63; P for occupation × intervention interaction = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Although the population-level injury rate decreased after the intervention, most improvements were among higher-wage workers, widening the socioeconomic gap in injury and exemplifying the inequality paradox. Results have implications for public health intervention development, implementation, and analysis.
OBJECTIVES: To test whether a comprehensive safe patient-handling intervention, which successfully reduced overall injury rates among hospital workers in a prior study, was differentially effective for higher-wage workers (nurses) versus low-wage workers (patient care associates [PCAs]). METHODS: Data were from a cohort of nurses and PCAs at 2 large hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. One hospital received the intervention in 2013; the other did not. Using longitudinal survey data from 2012 and 2014 plus longitudinal administrative injury and payroll data, we tested for socioeconomic differences in changes in self-reported safe patient-handling practices, and for socioeconomic differences in changes in injury rates using administrative data. RESULTS: After the intervention, improvements in self-reported patient-handling practices were equivalent for PCAs and for nurses. However, in administrative data, lifting and exertion injuries decreased among nurses (rate ratio [RR] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.41, 1.00) but not PCAs (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 0.74,1.63; P for occupation × intervention interaction = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Although the population-level injury rate decreased after the intervention, most improvements were among higher-wage workers, widening the socioeconomic gap in injury and exemplifying the inequality paradox. Results have implications for public health intervention development, implementation, and analysis.
Authors: I Kuorinka; B Jonsson; A Kilbom; H Vinterberg; F Biering-Sørensen; G Andersson; K Jørgensen Journal: Appl Ergon Date: 1987-09 Impact factor: 3.661
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