BACKGROUND: In industrial countries, home care of community dwelling elderly people is rapidly growing. Frequent injuries in home caregivers result from slips, trips, and falls (STFs). The current study tests attentional cognitive failure to mediate the association between work stressors and STFs. METHODS: A sample of 125 home caregivers participated in a questionnaire study and reported work interruptions, unreasonable tasks, quality-threatening time pressure, conscientiousness, attentional cognitive failures, and STFs. RESULTS: In structural equation modeling, the mediation model was shown to fit empirical data. Indirect paths with attentional cognitive failures as the link between work stressors and STF were all significant in bootstrapping tests. An alternative accident-prone person model, that suggests individual differences in conscientiousness to predict attentional cognitive failures that predict more frequent work stressors and STFs, showed no significant paths between work conditions and STFs. CONCLUSION: To prevent occupational injury, work should be redesigned to reduce work interruptions, unreasonable tasks, and quality-threatening time pressure in home care.
Accidental Falls* ; Aged ; Caregivers ; Home Care Services* ; Humans ; Independent Living ; Individuality ; Negotiating ; Occupational Health ; Occupational Injuries

BACKGROUND: Although work absenteeism is in the focus of occupational health, longitudinal studies on organizational absenteeism records in hospital work are lacking. This longitudinal study tests time pressure and lack of time autonomy to be related to higher sickness absenteeism. METHODS: Data was collected for 180 employees (45% nurses) of a Swiss hospital at baseline and at follow-up after 1 year. Absent times (hours per month) were received from the human resources department of the hospital. One-year follow-up of organizational absenteeism records were regressed on self-reported job satisfaction, time pressure, and time autonomy (i.e., control) at baseline. RESULTS: A multivariate regression showed significant prediction of absenteeism by time pressure at baseline and time autonomy, indicating that a stress process is involved in some sickness absenteeism behavior. Job satisfaction and the interaction of time pressure and time autonomy did not predict sickness absenteeism. CONCLUSION: Results confirmed time pressure and time autonomy as limiting factors in healthcare and a key target in work redesign.
Absenteeism* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Occupational Health