Number Of Work-related Injuries Research Articles

Hand Trauma and Reconstructive Microsurgery during the COVID-19 Emergency in the Marche Region (Italy): What Has Changed?

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing COVID-19, has spread across the globe. To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Italian government imposed various restrictions (lockdowns). These restrictions had an impact on the flow of patients accessing hospital care. Our aim in this study was to analyze the impact of lockdowns on the epidemiology of patients suffering from hand trauma. Our work analyzed the variation in the number and characteristics of hand trauma patients during the lockdown and half-lockdowns in 2020 compared to the same periods in the previous and subsequent years. In 2020, during the lockdown period, 107 patients were treated by our department for hand trauma, amounting to a 2% increase compared to the average number of patients treated in the pre-pandemic period. In 2020, during the half-lockdown period, 158 patients were treated, amounting to a 6.8% increase in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. During the lockdown period in Italy, the flow of patients suffering from hand trauma referred to our hub center remained stable. Given the restrictions imposed by the lockdown, we expected a consequent reduction in the number of work-related injuries, which did occur, while there was a surprising increase in the number of traffic-related injuries. The number of domestic accidents remained stable.

Impact of extreme temperatures on the performance evaluation of China's work-related injury insurance system.

With the influence of climate change resulting in more extreme days, a rise in the number of work-related injuries could be expected. The literature has addressed the performance evaluation of a work-related injury insurance (WII) system via a two-stage structure with input/output correlation as well as the impact of extreme temperatures under different scenarios. This article thus evaluates the performance of a system comprised of operational and service sub-systems under three scenarios of extreme temperatures and proposes a hybrid two-stage dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with nondiscretionary variables for measuring integrated WII efficiency under the three scenarios. The results are as follows: (1) the poor performance of the operational and service sub-systems leads to the integrated WII system's low efficiency for 30 provinces in China during 2010-2019, except for Zhejiang, Hainan, and Qinghai. (2) Extreme temperatures must be considered when measuring WII efficiency and its stage efficiencies, or otherwise WII efficiency and operational efficiency will be underestimated in 19 provinces. (3) The negative impacts of extreme temperatures on the efficiency of the integrated WII system should be taken notice of, especially for Sichuan.

Occupational safety knowledge management in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

This article elaborates the characteristics of knowledge management in the context of occupational safety and presents the results of research based on the assumption that there is a link between knowledge management and occupational safety performance, and that knowledge management can help in improving occupational safety performance. The research involved 645 occupational safety experts from three Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia). The results showed that the knowledge management in the organization is related to all of the observed aspects of occupational safety performance: number of work-related injuries within the organization; number of lost working days due to injuries; costs caused by work-related injuries and occupational diseases; financial investments in occupational safety; assessment of the state of occupational safety. The practical implications of the article can be seen in the context of meeting the educational needs for continuous learning and improvement of knowledge/lifelong learning in the field of occupational safety.

Comparison of the characteristics of work-related injuries between older workers and the workers of the conventional working-age in the Republic of Korea, 2010–2014

ObjectiveWith population ageing, the number of older workers is increasing and the number of work-related injuries in older people is also increasing. Occupational patterns and work-related injury patterns vary with...

Safe Farmer Common Sense’ - A National Five-Year Education-Based Program for Prevention of Occupational Injuries in Swedish Agriculture-Background, Process, and Evaluation

ABSTRACTBackground: This paper provides background and a process description for a national initiative (‘Safe Farmer Common Sense’) on prevention of occupational injuries in Swedish agriculture.Methods: This initiative, which received investment funding of 65 million SEK (6.5 million USD) from the European Union (EU) over the 5-year period 2009–2013, was jointly developed by researchers, agricultural organizations, authorities, and politicians. The program had a farmer-centered perspective and included short courses, on-farm visits by supervisors, and a number of education events and awareness-promoting activities.Results: Our analysis showed that the concept was successful, since it involved farmers to a greater extent and prompted a high proportion of these to introduce injury prevention measures on their farms compared with a control group. The analysis also confirmed that these activities continued two-three years after participation in the program.Conclusion: The program was not found to have any major effect on the number of occupational injuries, although the level of occupational fatalities was lower during the intervention period. Thus the investment can be questioned as regards the limited impact on the number of work-related injuries in Swedish agriculture and may have been too short to have a lasting effect.

Fatigue in Ontario workers with head trauma: frequencies and correlations

Introduction Fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms in patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and it is difficult to clarify the nature of this symptom and manage it. In the context of workplace disability, fatigue is defined subjectively by self-report and objectively as degraded performance and inability to perform occupational duties. While workers have little difficulty recognizing physical tiredness, they have less insight in detecting the more subtle signs of mental fatigue, and may fail to indicate and appreciate its impact on their performance. As fatigue after head trauma may be the end result of a common pathway integrating multiple factors, the aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency and correlations of fatigue in a sample of Ontario workers with trauma to the head. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study of a population with mild to moderate TBI with persistent symptoms, who were seen for assessment at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute’s Worker’s Safety and Insurance Board outpatient clinic May–September 2012. Twenty-five Ontario workers (60% males, 40% females) were asked to complete the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Patient’s Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Hospital Anxiety Scale (HADS-A), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Toronto Hospital Alertness Test (THAT) questionnaires. Frequency distribution and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis. Workers also reported on the number of work-related injuries occurring in the past 5 years. Results Twenty-eight percent of workers named fatigue as one of their three most disabling symptoms. Fifty-two percent of our sample performed shift work at the time of their injury. Fatigue requiring further evaluation based on self-report (FSS total) was found in 88%, depression in 96%, anxiety in 64%, excessive daytime sleepiness in 52%, and impaired alertness in 64% of our participants. Clinical insomnia based on ISS was found in 96% of workers. A significant association was found between outcome of interest (FSS total score) and the number of work-related injuries occurring in the past 5 years (r = 0.48, p = 0.016), PHQ-9 total score (r = 0.49, p = 0.012), anxiety total score (r = 0.48, p = 0.015) and alertness total score (r = −0.78, p Conclusion Fatigue was strongly associated with depression and weakly with insomnia. A moderate positive association found between fatigue and the number of previous work-related injuries and the strong negative association between fatigue and alertness may indicate workers’ inability to perform tasks that require sustained attention. Future research in the area of sleep timing and medications effect as a determinant of fatigue, alertness and performance is warranted. Acknowledgements Shirin Mollayeva was funded through the Ontario Work Study Program, University of Toronto.

The Impact of the Alexander Technique on Improving Posture and Surgical Ergonomics During Minimally Invasive Surgery: Pilot Study

One of the main ergonomic challenges during surgical procedures is surgeon posture. There have been reports of a high number of work related injuries in laparoscopic surgeons. The Alexander technique is a process of psychophysical reeducation of the body to improve postural balance and coordination, permitting movement with minimal strain and maximum ease. We evaluated the efficacy of the Alexander technique in improving posture and surgical ergonomics during minimally invasive surgery. We performed a prospective cohort study in which subjects served as their own controls. Informed consent was obtained. Before Alexander technique instruction/intervention subjects underwent assessment of postural coordination and basic laparoscopic skills. All subjects were educated about the Alexander technique and underwent post-instruction/intervention assessment of posture and laparoscopic skills. Subjective and objective data obtained before and after instruction/intervention were tabulated and analyzed for statistical significance. All 7 subjects completed the study. Subjects showed improved ergonomics and improved ability to complete FLS™ as well as subjective improvement in overall posture. The Alexander technique training program resulted in a significant improvement in posture. Improved surgical ergonomics, endurance and posture decrease surgical fatigue and the incidence of repetitive stress injuries to laparoscopic surgeons. Further studies of the influence of the Alexander technique on surgical posture, minimally invasive surgery ergonomics and open surgical techniques are warranted to explore and validate the benefits for surgeons.

Nonfatal injuries to young workers in the retail trades and services industries in 1998.

We estimate the incidence and describe patterns of work-related injuries during 1998 to youth in retail trades and services industries. Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System and the Current Population Survey were analyzed. The highest number of work-related injuries to youth younger than 18 years occurred in eating and drinking establishments and food stores. Injuries occurring in these industries accounted for 44% of all young worker injuries. Injury rates were similar during summer and school months. Youth continue to experience high numbers and rates of injuries in retail trades and services. Improvements in safety training and injury prevention in these industries, particularly eating and drinking establishments, food stores, and health services, need to be addressed for youth.

Separating the Reporting Effects from the Injury Rate Effects of Workers' Compensation Insurance: A Hedonic Simulation

This paper presents a numerical simulation, based on data from the early 1970s, to investigate the economic links between labor market outcomes and the workers' compensation insurance system. The results suggest that, in most cases, any of three changes in the system—more generous benefits, more accurate categorization of insurance claims, or more complete experience rating of premiums—will slightly reduce the actual number of work-related injuries but will dramatically increase the number of insurance claims filed. The authors conclude that changes in self-reported injuries can produce significant misimpressions of the safety incentives created by the workers' compensation insurance system.

Labor-Management Aspects of Occupational Risk

In the spring of 1980 General Motors Corporation offered physical exami­ nations to model shop employees in 21 cities after three independent studies showed wood modelmakers were more likely to develop certain types of cancer than would normally be expected. The Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union recently made payments to selected union members who had been exposed to asbestos. The union members had sued both the union and the company, alleging negligence in protecting their health and safety. The United Steelworkers of America recently negotiated right-to-know language in steel and aluminum contracts pertaining to substances workers deal with in their jobs. The above cases are representative of the growing concern and interest in the long-neglected field of occupational health. Increasingly, the workplace is viewed as a focal point to better understand the determinants of individual health, and to initiate programs to promote workers' health. A number of factors explain the increased prominence granted to worker health and safety. 1. The number of work-related injuries, deaths, and illnesses in the United States documents the existence of a significant social problem. For 1979 the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 5.96 million occupation­ ally related injuries, 4950 deaths, and 148,900 new cases of occupational illness (1). Although these data indicate the existence of a serious problem,