1st Edition

Back Injury Among Healthcare Workers Causes, Solutions, and Impacts

Edited By William Charney, Anne Hudson Copyright 2003
    368 Pages 133 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently calculated nearly 60,000 musculoskeletal injuries to healthcare workers resulting from heavy lifting during attempts to move patients. Often the nurses, aides, orderlies, and attendants who suffered permanent injuries were forced out of the profession, straining an already inadequate pool of workers and wasting valuable knowledge and ability.

    Back Injury Among Healthcare Workers: Causes, Solutions, and Impacts presents the latest research on this topic from an epidemiological point of view. The book highlights case studies from actual injured workers, along with analysis of how this problem is being addressed around the world.

    This in-depth study also discusses the legal and rehabilitative obstacles to returning to work, and suggests new policies for the safe lifting and moving of patients. The editors compile recommended solutions from leading names in the field, detailing how healthcare facilities can create safe work environments to prevent disabling back injuries.

    Introduction: History and Vision for Work Injured Nurses Group USA
    Magnitude of the Problem
    A Word About the Stories
    Injured Nurse Story #1: Betrayal in the Temple of Healing
    Injured Nurse Story #2: Preventable
    Biodynamics of Back Injury: Manual Lifting and Loads
    Injured Nurse Story #3: Who Will Care for the Nurses?
    How to Accomplish a Responsible Cost-Benefit Injury Analysis in the Health Care Industry
    Injured Nurse Story #4: My Last Day as a CNA
    Striving for Zero-Lift in Healthcare Facilities
    Injured Nurse Story #5: The First to Go
    Injured Nurse Story #6: My Heart is Still There
    Introducing A Safer Patient Handling Policy
    Injured Nurse Story #7: I Won't Be There
    Injured Nurse Story #8: Fine When I Entered The Room
    Injured Nurse Story #9: They Let Me Go
    Injured Nurse Story #10: In Pain and Out of Work
    Prevention of Back Injury Using Lift Teams: 18 Hospital Data
    Injured Nurse Story #11: After Years of Service
    Injured Nurse Story #12: The Tub Bath
    Technology for Safe Patient Handling and Movement
    Injured Nurse Story #13: Is That What A Nurse Is?
    Bariatrics: Considering Mobility, Patient Safety, and Caregiver Injury
    Injured Nurse Story #14: Wake Up Call
    Participatory Ergonomic Design in Healthcare Facilities
    Designing Workplaces for Safer Handling of Patients/Residents
    Injured Nurse Story #15: A Nurse's Story
    Worker Control: The Best Means to Reduce Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)
    Injured Nurse Story #16: The Writing on the Wall
    The Relationship Between the Nursing Shortage and Nursing Injury
    Preventing Back Injuries to Healthcare Workers in British Columbia, Canada and The Ceiling Lift Experience and Data
    Injured Nurse Story #17: An Advocate for the Ill, Injured, or Disabled Nurse: It Started With One
    Injured Nurse Story #18: More Valuable Than Machines
    Injured Nurse Story #19: The Victoria, Australia Story
    Appendix 1: Ergonomics for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders
    Appendix 2A: Frequently Asked Questions About Portable Total Body Patient/Resident Lifts
    Appendix 2B: Frequently Asked Questions About Sit-to-Stand Patient/Resident Devices

    Biography

    William Charney, Anne Hudson