Slips, trips and falls in US hospital workers- detailed investigation T.K. Courtney a , D.A. Lombardi a , G.S. Sorock a,b , H.M. Wellman a , S. Verma a , M.J. Brennan a , J. Collins c , J. Bell c , W.R. Chang a , R. Grönqvist d , L. Wolf e , E. DeMaster f , and M. Matz g a Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, MA 01748 USA b Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA c NIOSH Division of Safety Research, Morgantown, WV 26505 USA d FIOH Department of Occupational Safety, Helsinki, Finland e BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA f Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, 55417 USA g Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tampa, FL, 33612 USA Abstract In 2003 the health services sector was the largest employer in the USA, and slips, trips and falls (STF) accounted for the largest proportion of lost time injuries (20%). A follow-back study of hospital workers who STF was conducted to better describe STF circumstances and inform ergonomic interventions. One hundred twenty-three health care workers, who reported a STF to the occupational health department in seven US hospitals, were recruited and interviewed using a structured telephone questionnaire. Participants were predominantly female (86%) with a mean age (range) of 46 (19-67). One hundred and eight workers (88%) fell: 53% after slipping, 32% after tripping. Liquid contaminants (e.g., water, cleaning solutions) were involved in 36% of the events. Sixty-four percent of the STF occurred at a transitional area: dry/wet (32%), one type of floor to another (20%), or uneven surfaces (15%). Forty-one percent of workers fell forward, 23% fell to the side, and 21% fell backward. While the hands, knees, and buttocks were most often the points of impact, the back, knees, ankles/feet were most frequently injured. For workers who were injured (93%), strains and sprains (29%), contusions (27%), and non-specific pain and soreness (24%) were typical. Other injuries included abrasions, fractures, edema and lacerations. Keywords: collaborative studies, epidemiology, health care research, occupational injuries 1. Introduction 1.1 Falls Globally, falls represent the third leading cause of disability after depression and anemia. Falls are also the second leading global cause of accidental death, after motor vehicle collisions [1]. In the USA, falls are the second largest source of annual, unintentional injury mortality [2] and the leading reason for unintentional injury emergency department visits [3]. 1.2 Falls at work Same level falls contribute between 20 and 40 % of disabling workplace injuries in developed countries [4]. Based on the 2005 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, the annual direct burden of disabling