The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)'s new report analyses the physical and psychosocial demands placed upon home carer, which it reported as one of the lowest-paid occupations in the European Union
William Cockburn, EU-OSHA's executive director, introduced the report. "Home care workers are the invisible backbone of our care systems. They support our most vulnerable citizens, yet they often do so under precarious working conditions.
"This report shows that with the right preventive strategies and initiatives, we can make home care work safer and healthier."
Common health problems reported as particularly common among home care workers included musculoskeletal disorders, often attributed to lifting and awkward postures required while at work, and mental health issues like stress and isolation.
The report is part of EU-OSHA's wider 'Health and social care and OSH' project, which is conducting research across the home care sector to spotlight the risk assessment and prevention gaps that have become commonplace.
EU-OSHA also commented on the sector's reliance on migrant workers, with this particular demographic at even greater of risk due to their often precarious employment and migration status.
