Study for EU-OSHA on occupational risks in the home care sector
Notus has produced a study for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) that analyses the main occupational risks in the home care sector, their consequences for health, and existing prevention strategies.
Entitled Home Care Workers: A Comprehensive Overview of Occupational Safety and Health Risks, the report provides a detailed review of the most common risk factors — ergonomic, physical, biological, chemical and psychosocial — affecting this essential yet often overlooked sector of Europe’s care systems.
The results demonstrate that enhancing health and safety conditions in this field necessitates a multifaceted approach combining public policies, organisational measures, and bespoke tools tailored to the unique challenges of working in private residences. The study emphasises the need to strengthen risk assessment procedures tailored to the specificities of this work environment.
The conclusions and policy guidelines also emphasise the importance of continuing to conduct specific research, particularly into home care workers employed directly by private households, as this group is particularly vulnerable to variable working conditions and diverse risks.
Finally, the study includes recommendations to improve risk prevention and management in the sector, including measures to professionalise the activity, strengthen worker participation, and develop specific tools for working at home.
The full results of the research can be found on the EU-OSHA website.
Comments are closed.