Epidemiology of work-related injuries among construction workers of ilam (Western iran) during 2006 - 2009

Occupational injuries and contributing factors among industry park construction workers in Northwest Ethiopia

Background

Construction business is currently the second greatest source of injuries in Ethiopia after automotive accidents, with a risk of fatality that is five times higher than that of other industrial sectors. To establish measures for injury prevention, it is crucial to assess the severity of occupational injuries and identify the variables that contribute to them. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with occupational injuries among Bure Industrial Park construction workers, Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 372 construction workers at Bure Industrial Park. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling method. The data were collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and work environment observation using structured checklist. In the descriptive statistic, frequencies, proportion, and mean were calculated and the results of the analysis were presented in text and tables. The bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify independent factors having associations with the occurrence of occupational injury.

Results

The overall prevalence of occupational injuries among Bure industrial park construction workers was 39.4%, 95%C.I (34.4%-44.4%). Factors such as sex (being male) [AOR = 1.74, 95%CI (1.02-2.97)], being married [AOR = 2.79, 95%CI (1.50-5.17)], no use of personal protective equipment [AOR = 1.67, 95%CI (1.12-2.85)], no training on occupational safety [AOR = 1.45, 95%CI (1.06-2.98)], and not satisfied with the job [AOR = 5.97, 95%CI (3.48-10.2)] were the factors associated with occupational injuries.

Conclusion and recommendation

The finding shows the public health importance of occupational injury among construction workers in the study area. Numerous factors have been linked to workplace injuries, including sex, marital status, the usage of personal protection equipment, training in occupational safety, and job satisfaction. As a result, in order to lower the rate of occupational injury, employers should prioritize offering safety training, encouraging the use of personal protective equipment while working, conducting routine workplace inspections, and ensuring that their staff members are happy at work by providing comfortable workspaces.

Small Scale Enterprise Workers Require Attention: What Predicts the Level of Occupational Injuries?

BACKGROUND

Occupational injuries are among the foremost public health problems that small scale enterprise workers are encountering. Most foregoing occupational injury studies focused on construction or welding industry workers which could underestimate the real level of occupational injuries recorded in small scale enterprises. Conversely, others deal with a combined level of injuries from both small scale and large scale enterprises. Therefore, this study examined the magnitude and predictors of occupational injuries among various categories of small scale enterprise workers in Ambo town (Ethiopia).

METHODS

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was employed among 408 small scale enterprise workers from September to October 2021. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was computed to identify factors associated with occupational injuries. Variables with P-value less than .05 were considered as significantly associated with occupational injuries.

RESULTS

The 1-year prevalence of occupational injuries was 39.5% (95% CI: 35-44). Age greater than 40 years (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.53-5.28), working for more than 8 hours per day (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.61-4.95), working during the night time (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.22-3.47), lack of workplace supervision (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.23-5.28), alcohol use (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.24-3.06), chewing khat (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.27-3.2), non-utilization of personal protective equipment (AOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.03-2.87), and lack of health and safety training (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.26-4.37) were important predictors of occupational injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicated a substantial proportion of small scale enterprise workers experienced occupational injuries during the last year. Provision of health and safety training, continuous workplace supervisions, and provision and utilization of personal protective equipment are recommended.

Critical study of the initial medical certificates of occupational accident declaration

The drafting of the initial medical certificate (IMC) is an innocuous act that can engage the responsibility of the certifier.

AIM

To evaluate the quality of the IMC and their compliance with the legal provisions and to develop good practice recommendations for the drafting of the occupational accident certificate.

METHOD

An epidemiological, descriptive and retrospective study was conducted in the University Hospital Center Farhat Hached (Tunisia) based on the occupational accident certificates completed by physicians during a period of 12 months.

RESULTS

In our study, 241 certificates were collected. The number of the patient's ID card was mentioned in 12% of cases. The date of the accident was noted in almost all cases (99.6%). The date of certification was indicated in all the cases. The average number of days of permanent work incapacity was significantly higher among male patients (p = 0.015), married patients (p≤10⁻³), and night workers (p = 0.05) and significantly lower among doctors (p ≤ 10⁻³).

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that the quality of the initial medical certificate drafting suffered from several inadequacies. This may be related to the lack of training of doctors in forensic practice, hence the importance of reminding the rules of good practice.

The Influence of Walking Height and Width on the Gait

Walking stability is an important factor that is related to working accidents at height. The understanding of the relationship between walking stability and walking conditions remains an unmet need. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of path height, width, and asymmetric conditions on the pressure and time information of the foot-ground interaction during walking. 12 subjects were required to walk at two height, three width, and asymmetric conditions. Plantar pressures during walking were measured with the F-scan insole sensors. The total pressures were normalized with body weight, and the temporal parameters were normalized with stance time. When the walking height increased, the plantar pressure at the "heel strike" phase did not change significantly, while that at "heel rise" and "toe off" phases significantly increased, and the "heel rise" occurred earlier, indicating a greater foot-ground interaction at the forefoot part of the sole. As the path width increased from 0.6 m to 1.2 m, the foot-ground interaction as well as the asymmetric effect approached to that of overground walking. The findings could help improve the risk assessment and footwear design.

Assessment of ergonomic exposure, work-related occupational injuries, and prevention: Child work in the brickfield industry in India

Child labor is an infraction of fundamental human rights, and it prevents the children's physical, psychosocial, and psychological development. In India, children have been working in different unorganized sectors as paid laborers. Children were found performing a fair amount of manual, rigorous tasks in the brickfield industry due to socioeconomic disadvantages. Child brickfield workers suffered from musculoskeletal pain and injuries due to working with a heavy physical workload, which hampers the overall quality of life. A study had been conducted among these child brickfield laborers from India during 2011-2017. The study found laceration (38.7% male and 36.9% female) as the primary injury followed by sprain and strain, scratches, avulsion, and fractures among child brickfield workers. The study shows that child workers are highly prone to injuries, mainly toe (23.9% male and 28.1% female), hands (22.0% male and 23.4% female), wrists, feet, ankles, and fingers. The injury rate among male and female child brickfield laborers was 7.64 and 9.52 per 1000 workers. The primary source of injuries in brickfields was due to falling from height. Several risk factors, including biomechanical, work stress, may play a key role in work-related injuries among child brickfield laborers.

Factors Associated with Occupational Injury among Hydropower Dam Construction Workers, South East Ethiopia, 2018

Background

Occupational injuries pose a major public health and socioeconomic developmental problems. Globally, 160 million people encounter occupational injuries; the International Labour Organization estimates that the cost is 4% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) or 1.25 trillion United States Dollar (USD). The second-largest number of occupational injuries was reported from the construction industries. There are limited studies about the prevalence and factors associated with occupational injuries among dam construction workers in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and associated factors of occupational injury among Genale Dawa hydropower dam construction workers.

Method

Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Genale Dawa 3D hydropower dam construction project from April 1 to 22, 2018. Four hundred and five workers were included in the study. An Oromiffa version pretested, semistructured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi-info version 7, and analysis was done using SPSS version 20 software. Bivariable and multivariate binary logistic regression was used to see the association between predictors and the dependent variable. The 95% CI and adjusted odds ratio with a P value of 0.05 was used to fit the final model.

Results

The prevalence of occupational injuries in the earlier 12 months before the study was 57.8% with (95% CI (52.8, 62.7)). Age, educational status, alcohol consumption, job stress, work shift, and working hours per week were factors significantly associated with occupational injury. Conclusion and recommendation. Occupational injuries were common among dam construction workers. Conducting regular monitoring of substance abuse, avoiding overtime work, rotation of the work shift, and considering age and the educational status during employee recruitment can be effective to decrease the prevalence of occupational injuries.

The State of Occupational Health and Safety Management Frameworks (OHSMF) and Occupational Injuries and Accidents in the Ghanaian Oil and Gas Industry: Assessing the Mediating Role of Safety Knowledge

Background. The study examines the mediation effect of safety knowledge in causal the relationship between Occupational Health and Safety Management Frameworks (OHSMF) and occupational injuries and workplace accidents in the Ghanaian Oil and Gas Industry. The study explores different dimensions of occupational health and safety management systems, workplace accidents, and occupational injuries. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 699 respondents through a convenience and purposive sampling technique were selected in three government-owned oil and gas organizations for the study. Correlation, multiple regression analysis, and bootstrapping methods were used for data analysis. The findings of both the regression and correlation analysis indicated that there is a moderately strong negative and significant relationship between Occupational Health and Safety Management Frameworks (OHSMF) and workplace accidents and occupational injuries. Safety knowledge significantly mediates the causal relationship between OHSMF and workplace accidents and injuries. Safety training was found to be a significant predictor of safety knowledge, work-related injuries, and workplace accidents. The negative relationship between OHSMF and workplace accidents and injuries shows that the existing OHSMF are either ineffective or lack the acceptable safety standards to control hazard exposures in the industry. Management must invest in frequent safety training and orientations to improve safety knowledge among workers. The study further recommends government and industry players to extend serious attention towards the promotion and improvement of occupational health and safety management systems in Ghana.

Workplace injury and associated factors among construction workers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous working areas, where the highest number of labourers engaged. However, the predisposing factors for occupational injury in the construction sites in Ethiopia are not well investigated. This study was, therefore, conducted to assess the magnitude of occupational injury and associated factors among construction workers in Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 566 construction workers. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select study subjects. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and observation checklist. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables significantly associated with occupational injury on the basis of adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of work-related injury in 3 months prior to the survey was found to be 39% (95% CI = 35.0-43.1%). The occurrence of occupational injury was associated with single workers [AOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.25, 0.97], longer service year [AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.72-4.53], poor attention to work [AOR = 2.65, 95% CI = 1.33, 5.29], working with vibrating hand tools [AOR = 3.23, 95% CI = 1.19, 8.76], no aware about occupational hazards [AOR = 4.66, 95% CI = 1.99, 10.87], and alcohol consumption [AOR = 3.16, 95% CI = 2.09, 4.79].

CONCLUSION

High prevalence of occupational injury was reported in the study area. Cut and fall were the leading causes. Marital status, service year, attention to work, use of vibrating hand tools, awareness about occupational hazards, and drinking alcohol were identified as factors associated with occupational injury. Therefore, health and safety trainings have to be taken place to aware workers about occupational injury and safety issues. Regular workplace supervision and provision of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) are also needed to prevent occupational injury. The findings of this study are useful to design and implement injury prevention strategies in the country. The study also contributes to the current literature as health and safety information is limited, especially in developing countries.

Determinants of occupational injuries among building construction workers in Kampala City, Uganda

Background

Globally, about 1000 people die and close to 860,000 people sustain injury at work daily. Injury prevention and control require contextual evidence, although most studies in Uganda have focused on general causes. Factors associated with occupational injuries among building construction workers were assessed in this study.

Methods

A cross-sectional study among building construction workers was conducted in Kampala, Uganda. A standardized semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Three hundred nineteen (319) participants were randomly and proportionately selected from 57 construction sites. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables while generalized linear modeling was used to estimate the crude/adjusted prevalence ratios.

Results

The prevalence of occupational injuries was 32.4%. Most injuries, approximately 70% occurred among nightshift workers. Age of ≤24 years (APR: 2.09 CI: 1.20–3.65, P = 0.009); daily income in or above the second quartile−USD ≥3.2 (APR: 1.72, CI: 1.06–2.80, P = 0.028); job dissatisfaction (APR: 1.63, CI: 1.17–2.27, P = 0.004); job stress (APR: 1.72, CI: 1.22–2.41, P = 0.004); poor safety environment (APR: 1.51, CI: 1.10–2.05, P = 0.009); PPE provision (APR: 1.47, CI: 1.05–2.05, P = 0.02) and routine use of PPE (APR: 0.57, CI: 0.34–0.95, P = 0.03) were significantly associated with occupational injuries.

Conclusion

There was a relatively high prevalence of injuries mostly resulting from cuts and mostly suffered on night duty. Upper and lower extremities were the most hurt parts of the body during injury leading to loss of a substantial number of productive days. This could affect the health and wellbeing of construction workers. Most of the factors significantly associated with occupational injuries are modifiable thus an opportunity to address the problem. Efforts towards integrating education for behaviour change, advocacy and training workers to demand for their rights to safe and protection at work and legislation enforcement can help reduce occupational injury occurrence.

Prevalence of occupational injury and associated factors among building construction workers in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia; 2018

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of occupational injury and associated factors among building construction workers in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia.

RESULT

The prevalence of occupational injury was 32.6% 95% CI (27.8-37.4). Male workers [AOR: 1.775, 95% CI (1.108-2.844)], uneducated [AOR: 3.327, 95% CI (1.262-8.771)], training [AOR: 2.053, 95% CI (1.004-4.195)] and Uses of PPE [AOR: 2.076, 95% CI (1.253-3.439)]. In focus group discussions negligence of the workers and lack of awareness were factors significantly associated with Occupational injury. The occupational injury was high among construction workers. Sex, Educational status, Safety training, Personal protective equipment were statically significantly associated.

A Survey of Work-Related Pain Prevalence Among Construction Workers in Hong Kong: A Case-Control Study

Construction workers undertake demanding physical work and face high risk of injuries in poor working environments. This case-control study investigated the extent of their musculoskeletal pain incidence at work. A total of 2021 construction workers in different trades were interviewed on-site in a survey from December 2017 to December 2018. The survey results revealed that the pain prevalence of the subjects in the last 24 h was 10.6 %. The worst and top most common pain spots caused by work were central lower back, left/right shoulders, and knees. Regarding pain management, their most common method was to ignore the pain (21.4%). The average percentage of pain relief after receiving treatment in the 24 h was 37.12%. Besides, significant differences were found between the pain and non-pain groups regarding their employment duration in current job or their average sleep duration in the 24 h. The study showed that those with multiple and bilateral pain sites had pain interference on their living activities.

Prevalence of self-reported work-related illness and injuries among building construction workers, Shiraz, Iran

The construction industry is one of the largest and most hazardous industries in the world, which has a direct role in the development of countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported work-related illness and injuries among construction workers in Shiraz, Iran. 850 randomly selected workers from 2450 construction sites completed a self-statement questionnaire regarding the prevalence of self-reported work-related illness and injuries (WRIIs), in Shiraz, Iran. The association of WRII with demographic variables were studied. The overall prevalence rate of occupational injuries was 31 %. Musculoskeletal disorders (53.3 %), eye diseases (34.1 %) and skin diseases (30.1 %) have been the most prevalent work-related illnesses among construction workers, respectively. The prevalence of WRIIs among construction workers was significantly associated with age, education, marriage, work experience, safety training programs and number of workers in the workplace as well as employment status. Considering the high prevalence of WRIIs among construction workers, more stringent occupational safety and health interventions are recommended in construction workplaces.

Epidemiology of work-related injuries among insured construction workers in Iran

Background and aim

Work-related injuries are among the most important health problems in developing countries, such as Iran. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology of work-related injuries among construction workers who had been insured by the Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO).

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study. The population included all construction workers who had a work- related accident during 2012 in Iran, which were recorded in the ISSO database after inspection. The effects of independent variables on injuries were estimated by logistic regression. SPSS software version 18 was used for analyzing the data.

Results

Overall, 5352 work-related injuries were investigated. The incidence rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries was 0.07 in 1000 and 11.18 in 1000 workers, respectively. More than half of these accidents were due to careless activities. A younger age at the time of the accident (OR=0.98, CI: 0.97–0.99, p=0.001), being married (OR=1.37, CI: 1.04–1.79, p=0.02), place of accident (OR=1.86, CI: 1.18–2.92, p=0.007), lack of information (OR=5.28, CI: 1.57–17.75, p=0.007), disrespect of safety regulations (OR=3.11, CI: 1.87–5.17, p=0.001), non-use of protective equipment (OR=2.98, CI: 1.62–5.50, p=0.001), and defective equipment (OR=2.22, CI: 1.18–4.20, p=0.01) had a significant effect on the incidence of work-related injury.

Conclusions

The pattern of work-related injury in Iran was almost similar in regard to age, gender, cause and type of the accident, with other parts of the world.

Risk factors for non-fatal occupational injuries among construction workers: A case–control study

Background:

Substance abuse is a serious problem, because it affects both workers and young people. Prevalence and consequences of cannabis abuse among construction workers in particular are not well studied in Egypt.

Objectives:

To determine the association between non-fatal occupational injuries among construction workers and their demographic and occupational factors and to assess the frequency of cannabis abuse and its relationship to injury severity and workdays lost.

Subjects and methods:

A case–control study was conducted at Mansoura Emergency Hospital. Cases were 100 acutely injured male workers. A control group of 90 healthy age-matched workers was selected from 8 construction sites. Workers were interviewed, and a questionnaire was completed that included socio-demographic data, full occupational history, and causes and type of injury. Injury outcome measures included lost workdays and the injury severity score (ISS). Cannabis abuse in injured workers was monitored by preliminary testing of urine and confirmatory testing of blood.

Results:

Logistic regression analysis revealed that the independent predictors of occupational injuries were rural residence, being a carpenter or painter and past history of injuries. The most common accidents were slipping falls (62%). Confirmed cannabis test was positive in 51.1% of the injured workers. Median days away from work were greater among cannabis users than non-users. The ISS was significantly higher among users compared to non-users ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Cannabis abuse can increase injury severity and prolong workdays lost. Drug testing is recommended for at-risk construction workers with inadequate safety measures.

The role of drug and alcohol use and the risk of motor vehicle crashes in Shiraz, Iran, 2014: A case-crossover study

BACKGROUND

Traffic accidents and traffic-related injuries and mortality have become a major public health concern in Iran. This study aimed to examine the role of drug and alcohol use in motor vehicle accidents in Iran.

METHODS

This case-crossover study was conducted on 441 drivers who survived a road traffic crash and were taken to the emergency department of Shahid Rajaee trauma hospital in Shiraz, southern Iran. Data were collected using checklists that included demographic characteristics and drug and alcohol use prior to driving. Alcohol and drug use was identified through self-report, and cannabis, morphine, and methamphetamine urine tests were used to confirm drug abuse among drivers.

RESULTS

In total 17.9% of drivers reported using drugs (cannabis, opium, or metamphetamine) and 8.84% of drivers reported consuming alcohol prior to the collision. The crude odds ratios (ORs) for having a crash for opium, cannabis, and metamphetamine were 1.94 (95% interval confidence [CI], 1.11-3.38), 2.37 (95% CI, 1.03-5.42), 5.5 (95% CI, 1.21-24.81), respectively, and for all drugs was 3.83 (95% CI, 2.28-6.43). The OR for alcohol was 3.5 (95% CI, 1.73-7.06) based on self-report.

CONCLUSION

Drug and alcohol use are increasing the risk of traffic crashes in Iran. Risk-reducing programs must be designed and implemented.

Modeling of Individual and Organizational Factors Affecting Traumatic Occupational Injuries Based on the Structural Equation Modeling: A Case Study in Large Construction Industries

Background

Individual and organizational factors are the factors influencing traumatic occupational injuries.

Objectives

The aim of the present study was the short path analysis of the severity of occupational injuries based on individual and organizational factors.

Materials and Methods

The present cross-sectional analytical study was implemented on traumatic occupational injuries within a ten-year timeframe in 13 large Iranian construction industries. Modeling and data analysis were done using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and the IBM SPSS AMOS statistical software version 22.0, respectively.

Results

The mean age and working experience of the injured workers were 28.03 ± 5.33 and 4.53 ± 3.82 years, respectively. The portions of construction and installation activities of traumatic occupational injuries were 64.4% and 18.1%, respectively. The SEM findings showed that the individual, organizational and accident type factors significantly were considered as effective factors on occupational injuries’ severity (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Path analysis of occupational injuries based on the SEM reveals that individual and organizational factors and their indicator variables are very influential on the severity of traumatic occupational injuries. So, these should be considered to reduce occupational accidents’ severity in large construction industries.

Occupational injuries among building construction workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background

Occupational injuries can pose direct costs, like suffering, loss of employment, disability and loss of productivity, and indirect costs on families and society. However, there is a dearth of studies clarifying the situation in most of Subsaharan African countries, like Ethiopia. The present study determined the prevalence of injury and associated factors among building construction employees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among building construction employees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February to April 2015. Multi-stages sampling followed by simple random sampling techniques was used to select the study participants. The sample size of the study was 544. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariable analyses were employed to see the effect of explanatory variables on injury.

Results

The prevalence of injury among building construction employees was reported to be 38.3 % [95 % CI: (33.9, 42.7)] in the past 1 year. Use of personal protective equipments, work experience, khat chewing were factors significantly associated with injury.

Conclusion

This is among the few studies describing construction health and safety in Ethiopia. In this study a relatively higher prevalence of injury was reported among building construction employees compared to other studies. If urgent interventions are not in place, the absence from work, loss of productivity and work-related illnesses, disabilities and fatalities will continue to be a major challenge of the construction industry in the future. Therefore, programs to mitigate the burden borne by construction-related injuries should focus on areas, such as provision of safety trainings, promoting use of PPE and monitoring substance abuse in workplace.

Factors associated with fatal occupational accidents among Mexican workers: a national analysis

OBJECTIVE

To identify the factors associated with fatal occupational injuries in Mexico in 2012 among workers affiliated with the Mexican Social Security Institute.

METHODS

Analysis of secondary data using information from the National Occupational Risk Information System, with the consequence of the occupational injury (fatal versus non-fatal) as the response variable. The analysis included 406,222 non-fatal and 1,140 fatal injuries from 2012. The factors associated with the lethality of the injury were identified using a logistic regression model with the Firth approach.

RESULTS

Being male (OR=5.86; CI95%: 4.22-8.14), age (OR=1.04; CI95%: 1.03-1.06), employed in the position for 1 to 10 years (versus less than 1 year) (OR=1.37; CI95%: 1.15-1.63), working as a facilities or machine operator or assembler (OR: 3.28; CI95%: 2.12- 5.07) and being a worker without qualifications (OR=1.96; CI95%: 1.18-3.24) (versus an office worker) were associated with fatality in the event of an injury. Additionally, companies classified as maximum risk (OR=1.90; CI 95%: 1.38-2.62), workplace conditions (OR=7.15; CI95%: 3.63-14.10) and factors related to the work environment (OR=9.18; CI95%:4.36-19.33) were identified as risk factors for fatality in the event of an occupational injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Fatality in the event of an occupational injury is associated with factors related to sociodemographics (age, sex and occupation), the work environment and workplace conditions. Worker protection policies should be created for groups with a higher risk of fatal occupational injuries in Mexico.