The Health Care Work Environment and Adverse Health and Safety Consequences for Nurses

Abstract

Nurses' working conditions are inextricably linked to the quality of care that is provided to patients and patients' safety. These same working conditions are associated with health and safety outcomes for nurses and other health care providers. This chapter describes aspects of the nursing work environment that have been linked to hazards and adverse exposures for nurses, as well as the most common health and safety outcomes of nursing work. We include studies from 2000 to the present by nurse researchers, studies of nurses as subjects, and studies of workers under similar working conditions that could translate to nurses' work environment. We explore a number of work organization factors including shift work and extended work hours, safety climate and culture, teamwork, and communication. We also describe environmental hazards, including chemical hazards (e.g., waste anesthetics, hazardous drugs, cleaning compounds) and airborne and bloodborne pathogen exposure. Nurses' health and safety outcomes include physical (e.g., musculoskeletal disorders, gastrointestinal, slips, trips and falls, physical assault) and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., burnout, work-family conflict). Finally, we present recommendations for future research to further protect nurses and all health care workers from a range of hazardous working conditions.

Workplace slip, trip and fall injuries and obesity

“…Programmes have been implemented and outcomes have been measured in several settings (Brogmus et al 2007;Gallagher and Scott 1997;Geiger-Brown and Lipscomb 2011;Grabiner et al 2008;Menant et al 2008). If obesity proves, in confirmatory studies, to be a prominent risk factor, prevention programmes could take this into account.…”

Relationship between patient safety climate and standard precaution adherence: a systematic review of the literature

“…33 These findings are supported in a review that examined the relationship between PSC and nurses’ health and safety behaviours and outcomes. 34 Similarly, Gershon et al demonstrated that SP compliance was strongly correlated with organizational commitment to safety. 21 Advancing this knowledge, DeJoy et al found that a negative safety climate was the strongest predictor of job hindrances, which in turn were the strongest predicators of lower SP adherence.…”

Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Disorders among Registered Nurses: Evidence from the Thai Nurse Cohort Study

“…[3][4][5][6][7] In Eastern country, perceived physical demands were associated with MSDs (OR = 2.04 to 7.24). 8 Studies in Western countries reported that highly demands at work increased MSDs (OR = 12.0).…”