Union paper: Injury to Mass. healthcare workers highest among professions in 2020

Photo | Courtesy of Massachusetts Nurses Association Massachusetts Nurses Association members are pictured at the National Registered Nurses Day of Action in 2009.

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By Isabel Tehan

A new white paper report from the Massachusetts Nurses Association labor union using Occupational Safety & Health Administration data shows the rate of illness and injury to healthcare workers increased substantially during the coronavirus pandemic, and the study makes the claim that workers in the healthcare field were the most harmed in 2020.

The paper examined hundreds of OSHA occupational injury logs and incident form data in pursuit of determining trends of injury and illness data among healthcare workers since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a May 10 release from the MNA. Data from 29 Massachusetts acute care hospitals were consulted for the study, according to the release, totaling 3,531 hospital incidents reported on OSHA logs.

Rates of injury and illness among healthcare workers were substantially higher in 2020 than the three preceding years, according to the report, written and researched with UMass Boston and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The rate of increase in injury and illness among healthcare workers was higher than any other profession in Massachusetts, according to the report.

In 2020, 413 instances of injury or illness were reported per 10,000 healthcare workers. In each of the three previous years, there were below 200 instances, according to OSHA data. The average injury or illness rate in the private sector occupation rate was approximately 50 per 10,000 full-time workers, according to the report.

Additionally, days lost to individual illness or injury more than doubled in 2020 among healthcare workers, from six to 14, according to the report. Days away from work related to individual incidents of workplace violence increased from six to nine.

MNA released the paper in its ongoing efforts to highlight what it sees as unequal harms to its members, according to the release. The organization previously released a survey indicating that nurses felt quality of care had worsened.

MNA has 23,000 members across Massachusetts from 85 healthcare facilities, according to its website.