Slip, trip and falls among healthcare workers of an apex tertiary care hospital of North India: A cross sectional study.
Abstract
Background: STF (Slip, trip and fall) in healthcare sector is an underrated hazard, and many of the injuries caused due to STFs in healthcare sector are unreported (1). Studies have shown that the incidence of STFs is reportedly high in countries like United States of America. Slip, trip, and falls are the second most common cause of lost-work days in United States’ healthcare sector (2). However, due to lack of data and studies in this regard, the situation in India is not yet known. STFs need a special attention, and measures should be taken to mitigate the risk factors. There are many factors which may contribute to the higher incidence of STFs in healthcare institutions. Some of these factors are liquid contaminates on floors (water, soap, body fluid etc), objects (wheelchair, waste baskets, boxes etc)(3)(4).
Methods: Since, there was no mechanism to report or record the incidence(s) of Slip, trip and falls in hospital where this study was conducted, so the researcher has created a structured questionnaire, and this was introduced in the selected sample population in the form of interview-based survey.
This is a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 406 healthcare workers, this study was conducted in AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi during January 2019 to March 2019 using structured interview. A pilot study with N=30 was also conducted for establishing the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used for participant selection. The collected information was entered in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed.
Results: Out of 406 healthcare workers, from various clinical and support areas of the hospital, it was observed that 14 (3.45%) HCWs have at least one incidence of STF in the last one year. This is higher if we compare with the available data from United States studies. Out of these cases 5 (N=280, 1.78%) cases were from clinical areas of the hospital and 9 (N=126, 7.14%) cases were from support areas of the hospital.
Conclusion: Incidence of STFs was significantly higher in support areas of the hospital. There was a minimum 60 workday’s loss in the last one year due to STFs. Overall incidence of STFs was higher in support areas of the hospital.
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References
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