7 Healthcare Worker Occupational Hazards Often Overlooked

This list covers seven occupational hazards in healthcare that get less attention than needlesticks and patient handling. It is written for safety managers, HR leads and owners of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, home health agencies and other healthcare employers. The items are ordered from the hazard with the most published U.S. data to the hazard with the least.

Last updated October 1, 2026.

Workplace violence is the healthcare hazard with the largest published injury count outside of lifting.

In 2021 and 2022, the health care and social assistance sector recorded 41,960 nonfatal workplace violence cases that caused days away from work, job restriction or transfer, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was 72.8% of all such cases in private industry.

• The sector rate was 14.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. The all-industry rate was 2.9.
• Psychiatric aides had the highest rate of any occupation: 543.6 per 10,000 full-time workers.
• The median time away from work for healthcare practitioner cases was 12 days.

Between 2011 and 2018, about 156 healthcare workers were killed at work, MedCity News reported.

The federal guidance is OSHA Publication 3148, Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers (2015). In a 2026 survey of 1,306 emergency care providers in 81 countries, patients were the most common perpetrators (67.6%). Intoxicated people were involved in 44% of incidents and psychiatric patients in 35.2%. Only 51.1% of respondents had received formal violence prevention training. Employers in states with their own rules should check what those rules require of a workplace violence emergency plan.

The cultural hazards most clearly tied to errors in the published data are underreporting, short staffing and overcrowding.

In the 2026 emergency care study, 45.8% of respondents said violence diminished the quality of care they could provide. The study attributes rising violence in part to hospital overcrowding. PAHO lists excessive workloads, long wait times, staff shortages and poor communication as contributing factors.

An estimated 20 to 50% of violent incidents against healthcare workers are formally reported. Some research puts underreporting as high as 89%. The barriers named are workplace culture, time constraints, fear of retaliation and a belief that reporting changes nothing.

A National Nurses United survey of 1,267 registered nurses (July 2025 to May 2026) found:

• 38.4% of workplaces had clear reporting procedures.
• 59.0% of reported incidents were investigated.
• 42.5% of nurses said the employer did not change practices after a report.
• 17.4% said they were reprimanded for reporting.

The survey is from a nurses' union. If incidents are not reported, the employer cannot see the other six hazards on this list. A written reporting procedure, an investigation of each report and a documented response are the controls this data points to.

Bloodborne exposure is governed by 29 CFR 1910.1030. Airborne and contact infections get less attention.

In 2023 and 2024, healthcare support occupations had 32.4 coronavirus cases per 10,000 full-time workers, the highest of any occupational group, according to the BLS injury and illness release. Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations had 26.7, the second highest.

In nursing homes, OSHA names two further infections:

• Tuberculosis, addressed through CDC's 1990 guidance on TB control in long-term care facilities.
• MRSA, which OSHA notes is most frequent among immunocompromised patients.

OSHA directs employers to its Hospital Respiratory Protection Program Toolkit, first issued in May 2015. NIOSH also publishes guidance on respiratory protection and pandemic preparedness for healthcare settings.

NIOSH names five psychological hazards for healthcare workers: work-related stress, fatigue, burnout, substance use disorders and suicide risk. OSHA cites NIOSH training on shift work and long work hours, issued in October 2021, as the resource for fatigue risk.

The sources here give no prevalence figure for shift work disorder in healthcare. They do show the effect of psychological harm on staffing. In the National Nurses United survey:

• 63.1% reported anxiety, fear or vigilance after workplace violence.
• 11.8% were unable to work because of psychological effects.
• 25.5% had considered leaving nursing because of workplace violence.

NIOSH refers healthcare workers to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Managers who need to identify strain early can use the warning signs of burnout as a screening starting point.

OSHA names four chemicals as healthcare exposure risks:

• Formaldehyde
• Ethylene oxide
• Glutaraldehyde
• Peracetic acid

Hazardous drugs and chemicals in healthcare fall under the Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA states that a compliant program includes worker training and safety data sheets. This applies in nursing homes as well as hospitals.

The sources here do not give exposure counts or exposure limits for these substances. Each chemical used on site needs a safety data sheet on file and a place in the training program.

OSHA lists waste anesthetic gases as a distinct hazard category on its healthcare overview, separate from other chemical exposures. The settings that page covers include outpatient surgery centers and dental offices as well as hospitals.

The sources here do not give exposure figures, case counts or a numerical limit for waste anesthetic gases. Any setting where anesthetic gases are used should name them in its written hazard assessment.

OSHA lists three related hazard categories for healthcare:

• Radioactive materials and x-ray exposure
• Laser hazards
• Laboratory hazards

These are listed alongside violence, chemicals and infection on OSHA's healthcare overview. The sources here give no injury or exposure figures for any of the three. Each should appear in the hazard assessment of any setting that uses imaging, lasers or a laboratory.

Start with the reporting culture in item 2. Up to 89% of violent incidents may go unreported, so the reporting system determines how much the employer knows about every other item. Workplace violence is next because it has the largest documented case count and no federal standard to set a floor. This page does not cover latex sensitization or surgical smoke. The sources it relies on carry no figures for either.