Epidemiology and burden of workplace falls among health care workers

Falls are a leading cause of occupational injury for workers in healthcare, yet the risk factors and associated economic burden of falls in this sector are understudied. Falls resulting in workers' compensation for time-loss from work from 2004-2007 for healthcare workers in British Columbia (BC) were extracted from a standardised incident-reporting database. Productive hours were derived from payroll data for the denominator to produce injury rates. The costs for treatment and wage loss and days lost for accepted time-loss claims were calculated. A total of 411 falls were accepted for time-loss compensation. Compared to registered nurses, facility support workers (risk ratio (95% CI) = 6.29 (4.56-8.69)) and community health workers (6.58 (3.76-11.50)) were at high risk for falls. Falls predominantly occurred outdoors, in patients' rooms and kitchens depending on occupation and sub-sector. Slippery surfaces due to icy conditions or liquid contaminants were a leading contributing factor. Falls were more frequent in the colder months (January-March). The median number of days lost was higher for females, long-term care workers, licensed practical nurses and care aides. Females, long-term care workers, RNs, licensed practical nurses, care aides and maintenance workers had the most costly falls.

Reducing work-related serious fall injuries would be expected to bring about significant benefits in terms of reduced pain and suffering, improved workplace productivity, reduced absenteeism and reduced compensation costs. The findings of this research should contribute towards developing evidence-based interventions to reduce fall injuries in healthcare.