ccupational and environmental health nurses must be able to analyze the economic benefits of measures for reducing work related injury. An example of such analysis is provided by a hospital in British Columbia, Canada where mechanical equipment to assist in patient lifting was installed to reduce musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) among health care workers. All costs and benefits attributable to this intervention were identified and measured for a I year period preceding and following the intervention. Direct savings alone produced a payback within 4 years, and the payback occurs more quickly when the effect of indirect savings or the trend to rising compensation costs is considered. From the perspective of the facility itself, benefits exceed costs by a factor of more than 6 to I, representing an internal rate of return of 17.9%. Use of this business case summary, together with other knowledge of determinants of worker well being, helped secure a commitment for wide spread implementation of similar projects.

The effectiveness of replacing floor lifts with mechanical ceiling lifts was evaluated in the extended care unit of a British Columbia hospital. Sixty-five ceiling lifts were installed between April and August 1998. Injury data were abstracted from injury reports for all staff musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) occurring in the unit during a 3 year period prior to installation and a 1.5 year follow up period. Descriptive statistics were calculated for injuries pre-versus post-installation. Rates were calculated as num-ABOUT THE AUTHORS Ms. Ronald is research assistant, Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare, and graduate student,

BackgroundInvestigation of incident information is a key part of a surveillance program in a healthy workplace; it allows patterns and trends to be identified. An Occupational Health and Safety Information System (OHASIS), developed by researchers from the University of British Columbia and South Africa, was implemented online in a medical laboratory service in SA in 2012. The system plays a role in collating reported incidents, incident investigations, and storage of occupational health information, hazard assessment, and other services such as hazardous waste management.MethodsIncident data from OHASIS from 2012 to 2015 were extracted and analysed for trends and association with reported root causes. Two employee surveys were also conducted before and 2 years after implementation of the system in a representative random sample of employees.ResultsThe survey results showed a significant increase in awareness of occupational health and an increase the proportion of staff that had received OHS training. An increasing trend in number of incidents, including near misses, reported to OHASIS was seen, from 279 in 2012 to 467 in 2015. In analysis the incidents most commonly reported were cuts with possible biological exposure. All incidents were most commonly associated with lack of supervision and SOP rushing and the cuts with equipment design and malfunction.ConclusionThe introduction of the information system, OHASIS along with Safety Health and Environment staff, resulted in better management of occupational health and safety, training and increased awareness of occupational health issues in the laboratory along with an increase in the incidents reported. The system as well as being useful in the daily management of occupational health also functions as a surveillance system identifying common root causes resulting in incidents which allows for interventions to be targeted. This information is valuable for protection of an under researched subgroup of healthcare workers.

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