Main description:

It is ironic that those whose job it is to save lives often find themselves injured in the course of performing their duties. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers have higher injury rates than agriculture workers, miners, and construction workers. The Handbook of Modern Hospital Safety, Second Edition covers exposure paradigms and offers solutions and models of protection for these individuals, presenting the latest science and intervention strategies that have proven successful in the scientific community.

Extensively revised, this second edition explores a host of hazardous conditions that are faced by healthcare workers in today's hospitals, including:

infection and infectious diseases
back injuries
needlesticks
workplace violence
slip, trip, and fall injuries
ergonomic issues
electrocautery smoke
toxic drugs
ethylene oxide
aldehydes
pentamidine
ribavirin

In this long-awaited update to William Charney's seminal work, experts from leading hospitals, universities, and health organizations explore these health risks and suggested preventive measures, discuss recent research and new information on technology to protect workers, cover new legislation and regulations, and provide insight into the philosophy of creating a safe hospital culture.

Contents:

Overview of Health and Safety in the Health Care Environment. Epidemiology. Back Injury Prevention in Health Care. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Disinfection and Infection Control. Progress in Preventing Sharps Injures in the United States. Violence in the Health Care Industry. Prevention of Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards for Workers in Hospital Settings. Ergonomics. Chemodrugs. Tuberculosis Engineering Controls. Electrocautery Smoke: Reasons for Scavenging. Safe Use of Ethylene Oxide in the Hospital Environment. Monitoring Aldehydes. Pentamidine. Ribavirin. Trace Anesthetic Gas. Cost-Benefit. Clinical Approach to Glove Dermatitis and Latex Allergy. Latex Glove Use: Essentials in Modern Hospital Safety. Health and Safety Hazards of Shiftwork: Implications for Health Care Workers and Strategies for Prevention. Radiation Protection in Hospitals. Reproductive Hazards in Hospitals. Medical Waste. The Occupational Hazards of Home Health Care. Caring Until It Hurts: How Nursing Work Is Becoming the Most Dangerous Job in America. Laboratory Safety. Biological Exposure Index Testing: Two Case Studies. Functions and Staffing of a Hospital Safety Office. Education for Action: An Innovative Approach to Training Hospital Employees. Stress Factors. Case Studies of Health Care Workers in the Compensation System. Index.