Psychological Injury: Policy Responses
AWARE-NS
OEA (Office of the Employer Advisor Nova Scotia Society)
Author: Able Sense
Article By: Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Back injuries are the number one type of workplace injury in Nova Scotia. And they are 100 per cent avoidable.
Over 2,000 Nova Scotians suffer a serious back injury on the job every year, accounting for 30 per cent of all lost time injuries and costing millions annually. Every single back injury can be avoided.
Back injuries are part of an injury category called musculoskeletal injuries, or injuries that involve the muscles and the skeleton – the parts of the body that make us move. Other kinds of musculoskeletal injuries are muscle strains, joint inflammation, tendonitis, ligament sprains, pinched nerves, carpal tunnel syndrome or rotator cuff syndrome.
Musculoskeletal injuries, or sprains and strains, are the most common type of workplace injury in Nova Scotia. And they’re caused by hazards associated with the way work is designed and carried out.
Sprains and strains hazards involve the effect some working tasks have on the body, usually over long periods of time.
Hazards include:
- Awkward body posture, or working in the same position for long periods
- High body force, such as lifting or carrying heavy loads
- High task repetition for long periods
Right now, across Nova Scotia, workers are doing work that doesn’t fit. Work tables are too high or too low, tools are not easily accessible, the work involves considerable heavy lifting, stretching or twisting or any number of other examples.
Your employees may not say anything at first, but their work may hurt, showing up as stiff backs, sore wrists or shoulder pain. Let unaddressed, these aches and pains at the end of a shift may develop into injuries.
Listen to your workforce. Encourage early reporting of symptoms so the job set-up can be improved before injury develops. A pro-active approach will prevent injury and reduce the severity of injuries that may occur.
Regardless of whether you work for a multi-national company or small business, you can benefit from using ergonomic design. Ergonomics is about designing for human use. It allows quality work to be completed safely and easily by fitting the job to the worker.
People who think in terms of ergonomics ask themselves five simple questions every time they purchase a piece of equipment, every time they build or modify a workspace or facility, every time they think about how a job will be done, and every time they create a new position.
The 5 W’s of ergonomics include:
- What are the task requirements?
- Who is doing the work?
- Where is the work being done?
- Worst-case scenario: what is it?
- Whoops! What is the consequence of human error?
Ergonomics is a way of thinking about workplace design that maximizes the safety and efficiency of the workplace by getting it right the first time.
Thinking ergonomically not only reduces injury, but prevents it from happening. It also improves the job, allowing quality work to be completed safely and comfortably.
For more information on preventing sprains, strains and back injuries, visit WorkSafeForLife
Article By: Mark Williams, AWARE-NS Safety Collaborator
Change in practice will be required to decrease the risks associated with handling patients in healthcare settings. The organizations partnered to create a made in Nova Scotia provincial injury prevention program for healthcare agree; continuing with the status quo will not mitigate these risks or their underlying causes. The individuals working on the strategy provide passion and expertise. Focus has been maintained partly due to early work facilitated by co-sponsors of the initiative, Sheila Rankin (AVH) and Steve Ashton (IWK), in which guiding principles for the strategy were created. The guiding principles agreed upon were collaboration, integration, evidence based, sustainability, concurrent activities, and people centred/cost effective/resource wise:
- Collaboration
The DHAs/IWK commit to sharing tools, resources and best practices; commit to contributing to the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of this work; commit to working with all the relevant partners; key partners will be identified in areas where injuries are most prevalent and engaged as necessary
- Integration
In order to be successful, this work must be integrated in to how work is done, the values of the organization, the behaviours of the team members and all human resources management and learning and development practices. A musculoskeletal injury prevention program needs to be integrated within an injury prevention management and healthy workplace/organizational health strategy.
- Evidence Based
Literature, research and leading best practices will guide this work. The DHAs/IWK commit to sharing data necessary to benchmark, measure and monitor this work and an evaluation plan inclusive of process and outcomes will be key to success. Monitoring will include those measures that are impacted by injuries such as sick time and overtime, etc.
- Sustainability
This work will include strategies that will create a foundation of safety and ensure sustainability and system success. This will require the provision of tools, resources, equipment, learning and development and behaviours that are integrated with in the culture of the organization(s).
- Concurrent Activities
In order to achieve early success, concurrent activities will need to be identified with short, medium and long terms goals. Quick wins will be identified and implemented. A number of work groups may be required. Individual DHA/IWK work will continue however there must be transition to integrate the work of this project provincially.
- People Centred/Cost Effective/Resource Wise
The project will consider the workloads, health, safety and well-being of those completing this important work when all are being asked to do more with less. Those doing the work will negotiate needs as necessary, work in the most cost, time and resource effective manner as possible understanding that success is dependent on relationships, engagement and commitment. This initiative has potential for system wide change and those doing this work will require courage and honesty as well as a safe environment in which to share.
Engagement of the folks most impacted is critical to effect the changes required of the sector, organizations, and individuals. Therefore there is a focus on engagement that weaves the other 6 guiding principles together and is considered in every action taken by the working group.
Visit the Soteria website to learn more about this exciting project!
About The Author
Article By: Mark Williams, AWARE-NS Safety Collaborator
The Problem
In 2012 The Worker’s Compensation Board (WCB) presented to the DHA’s/IWK a problem. In essence the problem can be described something like this:
80% of time loss claims, in Healthcare, reported to the WCB are strains and sprains (AKA musculoskeletal injuries [MSIs], repetitive strain injuries [RSIs], cumulative trauma injuries [CMIs] and soft tissue injuries [STIs]). Of those about half are associated with patient handling activities.
The cost to the system is multiple millions of dollars and the human costs are incalculable (how do you quantify an injured employee being unable to lift their child when they are home?)
A partnership was formed with AWARE-NS, the DHAs/IWK, and the WCB to commit resources to solving this problem. A group of senior executives and injury prevention experts were pulled together to create a plan to address the problem of strains and sprains in healthcare. Since that time, more partners have stepped up to the challenge including the Department of Health and Wellness, Health Human Resources Sector Council and Department of Labour and Advanced Education.
The Solution
All partners involved agreed continuing with the status quo would not solve the identified problem and the underlying factors contributing to the injury rates would take a significant change in current practices. A working group was formed and, despite a few changes in membership, focus has been maintained on the mandate. This focus comes largely from the passion and expertise of the working group members, but also from early work facilitated by co-sponsors of the initiative, Sheila Rankin (AVH) and Steve Ashton (IWK), in which guiding principles for the strategy were created. The guiding principles agreed upon were collaboration, integration, evidence based, sustainability, concurrent activities, and people centred/cost effective/resource wise.
A Strategy In Motion
With the nature of the changes required in the sector, organizations, and individuals to solve the problem of strains and sprains it was always clear that engagement of the folks most impacted is critical. This focus on engagement weaves the other 6 guiding principles together and is considered in every action taken by the working group.
The healthcare sector is large and complex, a highly regulated environment with a mixture of organizations that interconnect to varying degrees. To define the problem of strains and sprains into manageable pieces the working group has divided up the problem. The intention continues to be to progress through the pieces systematically, passing along lessons learned, at each step.
What will Soteria – Strains, the first Soteria project in the strategy, look like?
The Soteria working group has identified 2 major deliverables to provide to the partner organizations.
- A Program Guide– this will include elements shown to be effective in published literature as well as elements identified as helpful or required based on what was heard during engagement sessions with the individuals who manage and do the work of assisting patients to move. This will also include supporting materials and direction to resources such as training material.
- An Implementation/Sustainability Guide – This will include information on successfully implementing the program and sustaining it.
The Program Guide could be considered the meat of the program or the ideal state. The implementation guide is a map of how to get to that ideal state. Currently the focus is on the DHA’s/IWK and lessons learned will be shared with long term and home care.
Visit the Soteria website to learn more about this exciting project!
About The Author
Health Canada is working with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario regarding two deaths associated with the ingestion of “Bodico Hand Sanitizer”.
Health Canada would like to remind consumers that the labels of hand sanitizers advise external use only and as such, the product should never be ingested. Testing undertaken by Ontario’s Centre of Forensic Sciences of two bottles of “Bodico Hand Sanitizer” associated with the deaths found the product contained methanol, an undeclared ingredient, and not ethyl alcohol, the active ingredient listed for the product. Methanol is a highly toxic alcohol that, if ingested, can cause blindness or death. High amounts of methanol applied to the skin can cause irritation and inflammation.
Health Canada is working with the company that makes “Bodico Hand Sanitizer” and is in the process of independently testing additional samples of the product. Initial results have identified the presence of methanol, an undeclared ingredient, in the following products: Bodico Hand Sanitizer (8fl oz, Lot B9002) and Bodico Hand Sanitizer with Aloe and Vitamin E (8fl oz, Lot B9001).
Health Canada is working with the company to implement a recall of these products.
Please go to Government of Canada – Healthy Canadians for more information.
In our October 2013 Newsletter
- COSP SPOTLIGHT: Home Care / Home Support
- New Team Member: Jay Jacobson
- Call for OHS Writers
- E-Campus Promotion Staying Safe While Providing Community Based Care and Support in Nova Scotia
Please follow the link for details and to learn more.
Article By: Heather Matthews, AWARE-NS OHS Specialist
We all know that if you want to know the value of a product or service, it’s always best to ask those who have bought it. When it comes to COSP, we asked those that “bought-in” what they saw as the value of the COSP pilot program.
Before I share their thoughts, let me relate my experience since joining COSP five months ago. By the time I arrived participants had already started their journey to a safer workplace for homecare & home support; they had the road map drawn and the foundation started.
It has been a pleasure to work with all of the agencies and partners to continue to develop a Health and Safety Management System for this sector. The level of commitment demonstrated by these agencies to the advancement of safer workplaces has been tremendous. They have committed time and resources and, with their partners (WCB and AWARE-NS), have been able to developed useful tools and training modules.
It is really too early in the process to have hard numbers showing a reduction in injuries, but I want to share a few comments that reflect the option of many who are participating in COSP.
Collaborating with the other organizations within the COSP group has been so valuable. Although we have not seen a reduction in our injuries yet we are headed in the right direction. I am confident the tools that have been developed will help to impact our injuries once they are introduced to staff. Sharing experiences and information with the other members has helped unite us as a group and given momentum to the need to move forward with a safety association for community support. Together we can make an impact on a safer workplace for community support workers.
We indeed see the value of sharing best practices. Not surprising we are dealing with changing a cultural mind set, that being said, we did not expect to see a decrease in the number of injuries or severity at this time. We are at the very beginnings of trying to put into practice some new ideas, procedures and practices.
The value the COSP project brings to the home support sector, in my opinion, is identification of common, essential practices that ensure employees have a basis for safe occupational outcomes. As well, I hope it will serve as an advocacy tool for establishing standards to be used as a WCB audit, leading to commendations and rate improvements in our industry.
About The Author:
Heather Matthews is AWARE-NS’s Occupational Health & Safety Specialist. She received her Bachelor’s degree, majoring in Housing and Facility Management from Mount Saint Vincent University (1989). In 2010, she completed her Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from Ryerson University. Most recently was the Corporate Health and Safety Manager for Ocean Nutrition Canada a Global Bio Science company where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Health and Safety program. Developing a strong safety culture though leadership, training and education has been her primary focus.
Article By: Art Brown, AWARE-NS Safety Collaborator
A growing industry in Nova Scotia is home health care. With an aging population, more and more extended care services are being provided in the home environment. Driving to and from clients homes or different workplaces is a necessary task that can be full of hazards that both employers and workers need to control.
Your car, as with every home your enter, is considered a workplace. Your employer will have taken steps to ensure your safety while working in the community but while driving you have the greater degree of control. You must comply not only with the requirements of the NS Motor Vehicle Act but the NS Occupational Health & Safety Act as well. Ensure your Driver’s License, Vehicle Permit and proof of insurance are valid – this is your responsibility. The police do traffic checks for a reason.
Safety Tip #1: Plan the day even though you are familiar with the community.
Planning your route can reduce stress, especially if it means avoiding a 20 minute road construction delay. Always be sure that someone knows where you are. Having the phone GPS function turned on is important if an emergency occurs and you need to be found. Inspect your equipment and restock supplies for the next day when you get home after work and not minutes before leaving the house. So many times we forget something important because of running to catch the garbage truck, rushing kids to the bus or sleeping through the alarm. Be sure to do a few stretches before leaving the house to get your muscles limbered up. You’re going to be in your car a lot and this will go a long way to make driving more comfortable and ready you for the physical requirements of the job when you reach the client. Always carry a first aid / emergency kit and in winter conditions dress appropriately, including proper footwear. Be sure to keep a warm blanket with your gear in case of a breakdown or getting stuck in a snow bank.
Safety Tip #2: Be sure to inspect your car each morning to ensure everything is working.
It is a requirement of law that your vehicle is safe while on the road. Tires need to be rotated every 5,000 to 10,000 km so capitalize on the garage hoist time and have a quick unofficial inspection done. In Nova Scotia cars need to be inspected by a licensed mechanic every 2 years – that sticker on the bottom left of your windshield. Any car over 4 years old will need regular inspections to catch worn brakes, suspension or steering parts before they become a safety hazard and an expensive repair. Be smart – inspect for safety and your pocket book. A blown light bulb may result in a costly ticket.
Safety Tip #3: Check your gear and ensure it is properly stowed in the car.
An emergency stop can result in damage to expensive equipment. Loose items in the car can also become projectiles in an emergency stop. Always use the trunk for computers, medical bags or other loose gear – this can be a good deterrent for thieves and limits your temptation to use the equipment while driving. Also, keep a charger in the car for those times you forget to recharge. Other items for the trunk include the emergency kit and clothing from safety tip #1.
Safety Tip #4: Be aware of road and weather conditions when in your car.
The weather forecast changes on an hourly basis in Nova Scotia. What you saw in the morning forecast before you headed out the door, could change at a moment’s notice. Here are a few ways to stay on top of weather and road conditions. Call the provincial highway condition hotline – 511 for current conditions. Put a weather app on your cell phone or tablet – The Weather Network and Global News Weather are both excellent apps for hourly updates and future-casts. You can also tune into your local radio station while driving for updates. Do not drive in weather conditions that may put you or other’s in danger AND always drive at a safe speed appropriate for road conditions. SUV’s handle better than cars in snow and on ice but they can take more time to stop. Speed just increases the hazard, and remember, you can lose your license for speeding infractions in Nova Scotia – even on the first offense.
Safety Tip #5: No Use Of Mobile Devices When Driving.
The law allows you to answer and talk using a hands free device. However, this action does divert some of your attention from the road so use caution. Just remember the more intensive the conversation the less attention you are paying to the road in front of you. It would be wise to not use any hands free or mobile device when driving in bad weather, heavy traffic , school zones or any other situation where your full attention is needed for driving. Don’t tempt fate and always drive defensively. Plan to take breaks throughout the day to collect your messages, check the weather and road conditions, return phone calls and do your administrative work.
Safety Tip #6: When you arrive at your destination do a scene survey looking for possible hazards.
Note snow covered and or icy walkways, rough and uneven paved driveways and walkways, broken steps and railings, loose pets or farm animals. Prepare and set up an escape route and always back in to be ready for a quick exit. Be sure to place your car keys in a location that can be quickly accessed – on your person at all times is preferred. Take a minute to review the client files before leaving the car. This allows you to get familiar with the client and also see what animals come to investigate your arrival. As you exit the car remember you are transferring from one workplace to another with new hazards needing to be assessed. However, that’s for another day.
What are your tips and strategies to stay safe behind the wheel? Post them here!
About The Author:
Arthur Brown is an accomplished safety professional experienced in the multi-jurisdictional industries of Health, Manufacturing and Transportation. He has been a manager in industry, Inspector Specialist enforcing the Nova Scotia Occupational Health & Safety Act and is currently a Workplace Consultant with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia coaching industry leaders on safety excellence.
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Thursday, October 17, 2013
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Are you ready to make a difference in your workplace?
A Better Workplace Conference 2013 brings together thought leaders to share cutting-edge concepts and emerging trends affecting the workplace, as well as real stories from Canadian and international organizations.
This Conference has an alumnus of passionate delegates, and creates a valuable learning experience for those aiming to bring about positive change in their workplaces. This year’s conference will focus on three emerging organizational health challenges, which will form distinct, but related streams of presentations: Leadership for a Better Workplace – This stream of presentations will explore the development of supportive leaders who are accountable for organizational health and can create cultures of trust, respect, teamwork and performance. A Better Workplace Culture – The development of a respectful, learning culture that promotes work-life balance and where employees have input into decision making will be the discussion in this stream. Better Workplace ROI – How have those organizations recognized for being ‘better workplaces’ become this way? The business case including how they have evaluated their success and the outcomes they have seen will be shared.
Twitter Agenda
AWARE-NS will be tweeting speaker highlights for the following sessions:
The Energy To Lead! Canada-Europe Exchange On Mental Health In The Workplace
Speakers: Sari Sairanen and Thomas Schneberger
9:15-10:00AM
Session Will Also Be Recorded
Join experts, Sari Sairanen and Thomas Schneberger for an exchange of ideas on workplace mental health strategies between Canada and Europe. Thomas is the Head of Workplace Health Management for RWE AG in Germany and will speak on RWE’s long-standing workplace mental health strategy as well as provide a bigger picture on the European governmental program on mental health and well-being at work being rolled out throughout Europe. Sari sat on the technical committee for the development of the new national Standard of Canada on Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace and will share with us her experiences there, as well as some specific ways that the CAW is promoting workplace mental health in Canada. Join us for this lively exchange of ideas, and come away with new strategies and inspiration for implementing workplace mental health strategies in your own organization!
Building A Better Workplace, One Conversation At At Time
Speaker: Janice MacInnis
10:30 – 11:15AM
Session Will Also Be Recorded
More often than not, solving problems and driving change requires having honest, and often challenging, conversations. These conversations can be opportunities to gain input, overcome barriers, or change behaviour yet we almost all struggle having them. We avoid, wait too long, or send a message rather than initiate a discussion. These tactics all serve to contribute to the problem we are trying to solve and enable issues to continue unaddressed, resulting in a workplace culture that avoids rather than tackles its problems. This session will provide insight into the initiative undertaken at Dalhousie University in Halifax to address the need for increased capacity for having effective dialogue. Participants will leave understanding the impact of the quality of dialogue in organizations and empowered to assess their workplaces’ dialogue quality and access useful resources.
Gratitude And It’s Role In Organizational Well-Being
Speaker: Jim Moss
11:15AM – Noon
Session Will Also Be Recorded
Coaching for organizations to develop happier, healthier employees through daily interventions of gratitude in the workplace. The Smile Epidemic is a scientifically-supported and evidence-based social sharing program that is geared to developing a happier and healthier mental state in both individuals and organizations. The Smile Epidemic is in 125 Countries and 450 cities globally, with a Facebook page growing at 250 % a week and on some days, reaches over 500 million impressions. This year, the program launched campus-wide at Wilfrid Laurier University, as part of the school’s mandate to improve mental health on campus. Research suggests that when our brains start to scan our environment for positive and present moments; we spend more time looking for ways to be grateful and that we eventually become more grateful for our environment. Organizational happiness and the impact of happier employees from an economic and overall well-being standpoint is a topic that is discussed more frequently than in years past, which will be explored in this highly engaging session.
Strategies For A Respectful, Resilient Workplace
Speaker: Michael Leiter
2:00 – 3:30 PM
Relationships among colleagues and of supervisors with members of their workgroups are pivotal points in an organization. The quality of those relationships defines a workgroup’s potential to thrive in a changing world of shifting priorities. The quality of working relationships is a major determinant of employees’ psychological and physical wellbeing. Co-worker and supervisory relationships make distinct contributions to employees’ experience of work-life. This session leads participants through reflection on civility within their work settings. It provides strategies for individuals and organizations to foster greater civility, respect and engagement at work.
Click To View Full Conference Agenda
Be There In Person! Enter Promo Code: Sponsref2013
Prominent Issues in Continuing Care
INFECTION PREVENTION & CONTROL – It’s Everyone’s Business!
INFECTION PREVENTION & CONTROL – It’s Everyone’s Business!
When: Friday, October 4th, 2013
Follow @aware_ns on Twitter or the Hashtag #OVCCC
Topics Include:
- MRSA, C-diff & Urinary Tract Infections: The Real Story
- The ABC’s of Routine Practices & Additional Precautions
- Outbreak Management
- Best Practices For Environmental Cleaning in Long Term Care
Twitter Agenda
9:15 AM AST
MRSA, C-diff & Urinary Tract Infections
The Real Story
Dean Smith, BSc, BScN, RN, ICP
11:00 AM AST
The ABC’s of Routine Practices & Additional
Precautions
Kim Allain BSCN RN MHS CIC
1:15 PM AST
Outbreak Management
Kathy Penny, Public Health Nurse and Team Leader
Angela Harper, Public Health Nurse
Teri Cole, RN, BN
2:45 PM AST
Best Practices For Environmental Cleaning in Long
Term Care
Jacob Hillier HMT, SMT, C.E.M.
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