Occupational Hygiene Technician Walkthrough for Assessing Indoor Environmental Quality and Safety Risks in Urban Hospitals

摘要

Healthcare workers (HCWs) face a hazardous work environment daily, which among other factors, has contributed to a substantial amount of days away from work due to work-related injuries and illnesses. We created then used an occupational hygiene technician walk-through (TWT) indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and safety and health (S&H) checklist survey during summer 2015. Literature review investigated staffing levels, environmental conditions and health outcomes of HCWs, and previously validated S&H inspection checklists. Worksite visits were conducted to union-based acute care hospitals. The TWT IEQ S&H survey was created, piloted, and modified. Piloting the TWT IEQ S&H survey revealed potential environmental quality issues and safety hazards at hospitals. Recommendations included improved infection control practices and clearing obstructed pathways. This tool could benefit the mission of unions in creating a safer indoor environment for urban HCWs by bringing both IEQ issues and S&H hazards to the attention of hospital management.