Category: Featured OHS Articles
Featured article on workplace safety
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Health-Care Rx: Reducing work absences among Canadian nurses
Creating non-violent and supportive health-care workplaces might help prevent prolonged work absences among nurses. This is the upshot of a new study from the Institute for Work & Health.
With the health-care sector having the highest rate of lost-time claims and work absence in the country, disability managers in Canada’s health-care organizations may want to join forces with their counterparts in human resources to implement violence prevention and respectful workplace programs. A new study from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) shows that emotional and physical abuse at work, as well as disrespectful and unsupportive work environments, are associated with prolonged work absences among nurses.
“Our findings suggest that violence prevention is also work absence prevention,” says IWH Adjunct Scientist Dr. Renée-Louise Franche, a clinical psychologist at Vancouver General Hospital who led the study looking at the impact of worker and workplace factors on absenteeism among nurses. “According to our study, being abused or assaulted on the job is strongly associated with nurses having prolonged work absences. It is also indirectly connected by creating a poorer workplace culture and lower respect and support from co-workers, both of which are associated with increased work absence duration.”
The study, published in the August 2011 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (vol. 53, no. 8, pp. 919-927), collected information on almost 12,000 female, direct-care Canadian nurses from Statistics Canada’s 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses. Factors related to nurses’ personal health and their workplaces were examined relative to three categories of work absences: none, short-term (one to 10 work days) and prolonged (11 or more work days).
Worker health factors—namely pain that interfered with the ability to work, more severe pain, depression and having a higher number of chronic health conditions (such as arthritis, migraine and back pain)—had the biggest effect on the length of nurses’ work absences. Workplace factors had a smaller effect overall, with those having the most impact being emotional or physical abuse by a patient, visitor or co-worker, and low respect and low support at work.
The combined effect of worker and workplace factors was the most novel finding in this study, as few previous studies have examined this. Take pain-related work interference, for example, the factor most strongly associated with prolonged absences among nurses. “It looks like pain interference is a product of both worker and workplace factors,” says Franche. “That is, the degree to which pain interferes with work may depend not only on a nurse’s pain level, but also on the demands, both physical and social, of the environment in which she works.”
Potential strategies to reduce long absences
The study’s findings suggest a number of ways in which health-care organizations can help decrease time away from work among nurses. Franche points to these potential strategies:
Implement or augment violence prevention programs. Among those in the 2005 Statistics Canada nurses’ survey that were included in this study, 57 per cent reported being emotionally abused at work and 31 per cent reported being physically assaulted at work during the previous year. Abuse or assault at work by a co-worker was particularly common, with 55 per cent of nurses reporting abuse or assault by a co-worker, compared to 25 per cent reporting abuse or assault by a patient or visitor. “Many health-care organizations have implemented violence prevention programs since then,” says Franche. “But they need to keep vigilant on this front.”
Address respect, support and organizational culture. This includes nurses’ feelings of control over their practice and autonomy at work, as well as their relationships with doctors and co-workers.
Focus disability management practices on workers who are still on the job but struggling with multiple physical and mental health conditions.
Offer self-management programs that address pain and depression, focusing on the work environment. “The workplace doesn’t have full control of workers’ pain and depression, but it can help deal with issues by offering self-management approaches,” says Franche. “For example, more workplaces are offering relaxation and meditation courses, and these could be extended to include strategies on how to manage symptoms and episodes at work.”
Source: At Work, Issue 66, Fall 2011: Institute for Work & Health, Toronto
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
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.
Author: Rachael Crozier
You’ve heard it all before. Don’t smoke. Avoid drinking pop. Don’t eat fried foods. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t! You know that certain choices and behaviours are not ideal for good health, but you also know that some can help cope while in the moment. So the question is, how do you move toward a healthier lifestyle while balancing the ups and downs of life?
Well, it’s best to start ‘small’. Don’t try to change everything in one day. Choose one simple action to help improve your health. Committing to a lifestyle change does not happen in one day. It’s a life-long journey of striving for better health so as to spend more quality time with family and friends.
Eating
Trying to change your eating habits? Don’t aim for that perfect diet each day. Rather, plan to change one thing, such as choosing an alternative to pop or an alcoholic beverage. You can still enjoy that tasty pasta dinner. Habits are part of one’s daily lifestyle and social culture. If you are trying to make changes, it’s best to start by identifying the things in your life that cause you to choose unhealthy habits over healthy ones. When you start to eat healthier, you’ll gradually learn to substitute unhealthy foods for healthier choices, such as whole grain breads over white breads. (heartandstroke.ca).
Exercise
If you want to start exercising, you don’t have to go to the gym every day for an hour or two. Start with a leisurely 10-minute walk around the block on a sunny day. Go for a stroll around the mall with a friend. If you can change your mindset from feeling guilty for not exercising to making a plan to get short stretches of walking in throughout your day, before you know it, you’ll be setting the conditions for successful life changes. Many of us like to watch television in the evening – during a commercial, try going for a quick stroll around your living quarters. Include a flight of stairs if you have some. It’s a just a small change, but it has big benefits (Canadian Physical Activities Guide).
Smoking
If you are trying to quit smoking, don’t aim too high at first. The best climbers in the world can’t conquer Mount Everest in one day. You’ll just set yourself up for failure and feel guilty that you couldn’t accomplish your goal. Take baby steps. Reduce the number of cigarettes each day. Look into options for support (gethelpstopping.ca).
Improving the health habits of employees in the workplace can provide employers with a pretty compelling business case. Healthier, happier employees may lead to fewer sick days and disability claims (worklifehelp.com). Consider stocking fruit in the lunch room, bring in a health and wellness specialist to speak to your employees, subsidize gym memberships or provide yoga and meditation during the company lunch hour.
Got a healthy tip or resource to share with us? Please post it in the comments section below!
About The Author:
Rachel Crozier received her B.Kin. and B.Ed. Degrees from McMaster and Nipissing University. For the past seven years, Ms. Crozier has worked in health promotion, starting her career first as a health and physical educator and later diversifying to the field rehabilitation. She is currently working as an Attendance and Disability Consultant for Capital Health, where part of her role is to help educate and encourage healthy lifestyle habits for the organization’s employees.
Author: Heather Matthews
One of the biggest complaints people have today is that they are always tired. Busy jobs, busy families, busy communities, “busy everything”. We are trying to squeeze more into each part of our day including our workday. How many of us hit the ground running with a list of things to do that we know is going to be almost impossible to complete even if everything goes right.
There are things we can do to help us make the best of the time we have in the day to keep the energy up level thought the workday.
Sleep
To ensure you get the best out of your day, in large part depends on the sleep you had the night before. Getting a good night’s sleep is priceless when to comes to being able to face the day and the long list of things to do.
Developing good sleep habits is the best investment in your day:
- Have a bed time routine
- Make sure you do something relaxing before bed
- Turn off all lights and other distractions such as TV, laptops, tablets and cell phones
- Take a minute to reflect on all the good things you did today
All of this sounds easy enough to do. We all try to do the right thing but somehow life gets in the way. You now have a new list. Just pick one thing that you think you can change and keep doing it once you have mastered that choose another one.
Plan the Day
Try to keep the agenda for the day realistic. Most of us are tried just at the anticipation of everything we have to get done in the next 8 hours if we are lucky.
Plan your activities for the day so the things that require the largest amount of concentration are done in the morning when you are the most refreshed. In the afternoon, try to plan meetings or tasks that require less concentration. It is also a good idea to plan work activities that involve group of people in the afternoon.
Healthy Eating
It goes without saying that balanced healthy meals thought-out the day is best for keep you energy level up. This is especially important for the lunch meal during your work day. If you have a large meal for lunch it leads to a very sluggish afternoon. You body is expending a lot of energy digesting the large lunch which many times leads to the afternoon slump.
Things that can help get you thought the afternoon slump:
- Drink two glasses of water-one of the signs of dehydration is fatigue
- Add citrus to your water – adds flavor and is refreshing
- Healthy snack made up of whole grains and fresh fruit- allows for slower digestion as well as keeps your sugar more balanced
- Take a short 10 minute walk
Tell us what has worked for you and post your ideas and comments below!
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 the primary focus in her most recent role.
