Prioritizing back injury risk in hospital employees: Application and comparison of different injury rates

To identify high risk areas for back injury in a large teaching hospital, w e calculated standard injury rates and newly developed composite statistics for nursing and non-nursing work groups. Data were extracted from the hosp ital's workers' compensation database. The hospital-wide total injury rate was 4.6 reports per 100 full-time equivalents (FTE); Compensation Case Rate , 1.4 cases per 100 FTE; Compensation Severity Rate, 76 days lost per 100 F TE; and the Cost Rate, $3742 per 100 FTE. The Total Injury Reports Rate for nursing varied from 14.2 per 100 FTE for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nursing to 3.8 per 100 FTE for Pediatric Nursing. Non-nursing areas also demonstra ted increased rates for back injury. Individual statistical rates ranked ar eas differently in risk, whereas composite statistical measures consistentl y ranked ICU Nursing, Buildings and Grounds, and Orthopedics/Neurological N ursing as the top three. Patient handling was the precipitating event in th e majority of nursing back injuries, indicating the need for ergonomic inte rvention. The use of combined statistical measures provided a more integrat ive measure for describing and following back injury risk over time.