ANA Nurse Health Safety Survey Results

The latest health and safety smvey from the American Nurses Association (ANA) makes it clear that the efforts to protect nurses from occupational injuries remain a crusade-in-progress. The survey indicated that hospitals appear to be safer workplaces today than 10 years ago, when the last ANA survey was conducted. Safe needle devices and patient-lifting equipment are more available today than a decade ago. However, responses of more than 4500 RNs that participated in the ANA 2011 Health and Safety Survey indicated the same top three concerns were identified by the 2001 participants and in slightly higher percentages  

The 2011 survey revealed that 64 percent of RNs work for hospitals that provide patient assist devices. Fifty-six percent of 2011 respondents indicated they experienced musculoskeletal pain related to or made worse by their jobs. Eighty percent worked despite musculoskeletal pain. Slightly less than 15 percent reported suffering three or more work related injuries within a year. Just 21 percent of respondents in 2011 listed fear of contracting HIV or hepatitis from a needle-stick event, down from more than 40 percent from the 2001 survey. Only six percent of 2011 respondents 

---