Fitness, Health

Help wanted: Are you or do you know a care aide, nurse, community support worker, or other healthcare worker who struggles with staying fit and healthy? If so, I would love your advice—it will take just one minute. If you know somebody, please share this survey.

Help out by completing my survey.

TL; DR: I would like to get insight from care aides, nurses, community support workers, and other healthcare workers on the challenges they face in taking care of their own health and fitness.

 

As our population ages and we face a shortage of these health care workers, how can we keep patients and workers safe? I believe a key factor will involve addressing the barriers to worker health and fitness. While each individual should take responsibility for his/her own health, simply blaming individuals for not doing so does not help anyone. When your mother ends up in a care home, do you want a care aide who will be able to help keep her from falling, or one who lets your mother fall, as instructed by the employer, to avoid being injured herself (many employers do have such a policy)?

In the occupational rehab program, I had many clients who worked as care aides, nurses, community support workers, and other hospital workers. Back and shoulder injuries from performing patient transfers are common in this group. Despite doing work that demands high physical and mental demands to keep patients safe, this group faces many challenges when it comes to health/fitness, including doing shift work, not having high income, having certain beliefs and attitudes about health/fitness/pain (most of these clients were immigrants and 99% are women), and of course, being in an environment that primarily focuses on being reactive rather than proactive when it comes to health.

Help out by completing my survey.