Human errors and occupational injuries of older female workers in residential healthcare facilities for the elderly

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of occupational injuries of female workers in residential healthcare facilities for the elderly, and to analyze human errors as causes of accidents. From the national industrial accident compensation data, 506 female injuries were analyzed by age and occupation. The results showed that medical service worker was the most prevalent (54.1%), followed by social welfare worker (20.4%). Among injuries, 55.7% had <1 year of work experience and 37.9% were aged ≥60 years. Slips/falls were the most common type of accident (42.7%), and the proportion injured by slips/falls increases with age. Among human errors, action errors were the primary reasons, followed by perception errors and cognition errors. In addition, the ratios of injuries by perception errors and action errors increase with age. The findings of this study suggest that there is a need to design workplaces that accommodate the characteristics of older female workers.

Keywords:

• occupational injury
• human error
• older female
• residential healthcare facility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by Hansung University.

Notes

1 EUR 100 = KRW 127,428; USD 100 = KRW 108,100 (May 17, 2018).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Hansung University.