Safety risks associated with physical interactions between patients and caregivers during treatment and care delivery in Home Care settings: a systematic review

Objective: To explore the safety risks associated with physical interactions between patients and caregivers during treatment and care delivery in Home Care settings Design: Seven-stage framework from the PRISMA statement for research question, eligibility (definition), search, identification of relevant papers from title and abstract, selection and retrieval of papers, appraisal and synthesis. Data sources: British Nursing Index (BNI), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Cinahl, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ergonomics Abstracts, Health Business Elite, Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC), Medline, PsycInfo, Scopus, Social Care online, Social Science Citation Index). Review methods: The included references (n = 42) were critically appraised using a modified version of Downs and Black checklist and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: The risk factors are reported using the modified model of human factors of health care in the home to represent the roles of both patients and caregivers in the system. The results are grouped as environment (health policy, physical and social), artefacts (equipment and technology), tasks (procedures and work schedules) and care recipient/provider. These include permanent and temporary building design and access, communication and lone working, provision of equipment and consumables, and clinical tasks. The topics with strong evidence from at least 2 papers relate to risks associated with awkward working positions, social environment issues (additional tasks and distractions), abuse and violence, inadequate team (peer) support, problems with workload planning, needle stick injuries and physical workload (moving and handling patients). Conclusions: As home care increases, there is a need to ensure the safety of both patients and caregivers with an understanding of the physical interactions and tasks to manage safety risks and plan safer care delivery systems.