NON-FATAL WORK-RELATED INJURIES IN ABO KORKAS SUGAR FACTORY, EL-MINIA, EGYPT;TEN-YEAR SURVEILLANCE FROM 2002 TO 2011

Abstract

Background: Injuries kill and maim the people, often destroy families, devastate communities and do irreparable harm to society. We are concerned with work-related injuries that are mostly unintentional. Many of the injured workers suffer lifelong disabilities, physical disfigurement and financial ruin. Aim of the study: This study has two main objectives; firstly, surveillance of the non-fatal work-related injuries and secondly, studying the effect of preventive intervention on the occurrence of such injuries. Materials & Methods: Information regarding occupational injuries at Abo Korkas sugar factory was collected during a period of ten years, 2002 ~ 2011 to get aclear image about the magnitude of the problem of non-fatal work-related injuries in this sugar factory. We collected these data through the medical section of Abo Korkas sugar factory in collaboration with the industrial safety department of the factory. The study included two phases; an appraisal phase of only surveillance during the period 2002~2006 that was followed by an intervention phase 2007~2011 during which we continued surveillance, in addition to interventional preventive program tailoredaccording to data analysis of the appraisal phase. Results: Our results showed that workers in sugar industry are engaged with jobs that expose them to different non-fatal work-related injuries. Hands and feet were the most common body parts to get injured; with the falling objects and workers’ falling comprised the frequently reported causes.The incidence rate of the non-fatal occupational injuries declined significantly, from 5.3% on 2002 to 2.3% on 2011, with significant reduction of the injuries-related annual rate of lost work-days from 0.18% on 2002 to 0.09% on 2011. Conclusions: We conclude that occupational injuries must be considered by the society and policy makers, since much of the occurrence and severity of the injuries can be prevented with the existing technology and with little efforts for workers’ safety, organization, education and training. We recommend that a national surveillance system for work-related injuries should be established. Studies that evaluate the available strategies for prevention or reduction of the incidence and severity of injuries in different industries should be implemented.