Here are the main occupational health risks associated with working as a Healthcare Worker, with prevention advice.
Exposure to blood-borne pathogens, airborne infections and needle-stick injuries put healthcare workers at high risk of serious infectious disease. PPE and vaccination are essential.
Healthcare has among the highest burnout rates of any profession. Emotional demands, staff shortages and long hours create severe and sustained psychological exhaustion.
Manual handling of patients causes high rates of back injury in nurses and care workers. These injuries are largely preventable with proper training and equipment.
Depression, anxiety, PTSD and suicidal ideation are significantly more common in healthcare workers than the general population. Support must be proactively provided.
Shift work, on-call duties and overtime severely disrupt personal life, relationships and recovery. Long-term imbalance is a major driver of healthcare staff attrition.