A few years ago, an extensive study was done to evaluate safety risks to home health care workers. Over two years, workers were surveyed to determine the safety issues they faced on the job. According to the report, the most common risks were, “cockroaches, cigarette smoke, vermin, irritating chemicals, and peeling paint. The following conditions were also described: clutter, temperature extremes, unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the home, neighborhood violence/crime, and aggressive pets. Two percent of respondents reported the presence of guns in the home. Additionally, 12 percent of HHCWs reported signs of abuse of their clients.” You can read the full report here: http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/advances2/vol1/Advances-Gershon_88.pdf
What can you do?
Be smart. Evaluate the home or your worksite for risks and see if there are any simple steps you can take to reduce risks. For example, if you see newspapers or magazines stacked close to a heat source like a hot water heater, there’s a fire risk. You can work with your client to relocate or throw out the clutter.
When it comes to sanitation, remember your training and do whatever you can, within the scope of your job, to maintain a clean work environment and to follow hygenic practices. As a home care worker, you are usually working with individuals with restricted mobility. Assisting with a load of laundry, or cleaning out a sink of dishes not only helps your client, but it makes the work environment that much more sanitary. When it comes to needles and waste materials, remember what you were taught about sanitary practices and avoid things like accidental needlesticks.
There are always things you can’t control, like the neighborhood your client lives in, but if aggressive pets or confrontational family members are involved, you can try to make adjustments. Maybe you can change your hours to a time when the problematic family members aren’t around, or you can request that the client put the aggressive pet outside or in another room when you’re working. These are things you can discuss and coordinate between your supervisor and the client, too. You are an employee, but you don’t have to put up with unsafe working conditions if there are things that can be changed.
