Slip-resistant footwear reduces slips among National Health Service workers in England : a randomised controlled trial

Cockayne, S, Fairhurst, C, Liddle, M, Cunningham-Burley, R, Zand, M, Hewitt, C, Iles-Smith, HM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0520-2694, Green, L and Torgerson, DJ 2021, 'Slip-resistant footwear reduces slips among National Health Service workers in England : a randomised controlled trial' , Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 78 (7) , pp. 472-478.

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Abstract

Objectives Assess the effectiveness of 5* GRIP-rated slip-resistant footwear in preventing slips in the workplace compared to usual footwear (control group). Methods A multicentre, randomised controlled trial; 4553 National Health Service (NHS) staff were randomised 1:1 to the intervention group (provided with 5* GRIP-rated slip-resistant footwear) or the control group. The primary outcome of incidence rate of self-reported slips in the workplace over 14 weeks was analysed using a mixed-effects negative binomial model. Secondary outcome measures included incidence rate of falls from a slip, falls not from a slip, proportion of participants reporting a slip, fall or fracture and time to first slip and fall. Results 6743 slips were reported: 2633 in the intervention group (mean 1.16 per participant, range 0 to 36) and 4110 in the control group (mean 1.80 per participant, range 0 to 83). There was a statistically significant reduction in slip rate in the intervention group relative to the control group (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.63, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.70, p<0.001). Statistically significant differences, in favour of the intervention group, were observed in falls from a slip (IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.92, p=0.03), the proportion of participants who reported a slip (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.66, p<0.001) or fall (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.99, p=0.04) and time to first slip (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.80, p<0.001). Conclusions The offer and provision of 5* GRIP-rated footwear reduced slips in NHS staff in the workplace. Trial registration number ISRCTN33051393.

Item Type: Article
Schools: Schools > School of Health and Society > Centre for Applied Research in Health, Welfare and Policy
Journal or Publication Title: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN: 1351-0711
Related URLs:
Funders: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health, Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Depositing User: Professor Heather Iles-Smith
Date Deposited: 20 Jan 2021 08:44
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2022 06:35
URI: https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/59377

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