| The nursing home industry is one in which employees are at risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the low back. Occupational safety and health training is a fundamental element in workplace hazard control programs. Gaps have been noted in the literature on the effectiveness of safety training to prevent work-related back injuries. There is also an absence of the use of social theories in the development and evaluation of safety training. This study utilized a nonexperimental evaluation design with a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to ascertain back safety training needs and the effectiveness of a back safety training intervention for nursing home aides.; Needs assessments in two phases, one being interviews with nursing home administrators and the other focus group sessions with nursing staff, were used to identify factors at nursing homes which may lead to work-related back injuries. Based on the results of these interviews and focus groups, a theory-based, single-session educational intervention was designed and implemented in three nursing homes to certified nursing aides. The educational interventions addressed lifting techniques and the identification of work-related hazards. The educational interventions were evaluated using several tools, including preknowledge and postknowledge tests, evaluation forms from participants of educational interventions, management evaluations, observation forms, follow-up surveys of nursing home management, and the reported number of work-related back injuries. |
