Work-related Accidents Research Articles

The evolution of new and emerging occupational health and safety risks: A qualitative review.

Work itself and occupational health and safety (OHS) have evolved through industrial revolutions and will also continue to evolve in the future. The aim of this qualitative literature review was to examine how the scientific discussion on new and emerging risks (NERs) related to OHS has evolved in recent decades in developed and newly industrialized countries. A search of the Scopus database yielded 34 articles published before 2000 and from 2020 onwards. A review of the articles identified NERs themes related to changes in work patterns, changing workforce and growth in some sectors, climate change, new materials or increased use of materials, new technology and technological development, and viruses. In both article collection periods, possible adverse OHS effects discussed included musculoskeletal disorders, exposure to toxic agents, chemical compounds and hazardous materials, increased stress, increased likelihood of errors and accidents, psychosocial problems, mental fatigue, and increases in work-related illnesses and accidents. The articles published during both periods discussed similar themes. The main differences were regarding specific time-related cases, such as climate change and COVID-19. Based on the findings of this review, points to consider in OHS management and future studies are discussed.

PREVENTION OF WORK ACCIDENTS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: STRATEGIES AND APPLICATIONS

The construction industry represents a hazardous environment frequently associated with work-related accidents. This study concentrates on strategies and practices to diminish and prevent such occupational incidents. Preventing occupational accidents is paramount regarding workers' well-being, project efficiency, and cost management. Strategies and practices such as training, risk assessment, appropriate equipment utilization, collaboration, and inspection play pivotal roles in minimizing work-related accidents, emphasizing the effectiveness of integrating these measures. This study underscores ensuring worker safety in the construction sector remains an ongoing priority. Strategies and practices aimed at preventing work-related accidents are deemed critical for all stakeholders within the industry. They are considered crucial steps towards reducing work accidents and fostering a culture of occupational safety. Additionally, a survey conducted among approximately 600 workers across five different construction sites in Antalya aimed to explore the correlation between their knowledge levels in labor law, occupational health, safety, and work accidents. Findings indicated a necessity to augment workers' knowledge and awareness levels, suggesting that such improvements could lead to better self-protection of their health and safety, consequently reducing work-related accidents. In essence, the primary objective of this study is to offer recommendations for enhancing occupational health and safety standards within the construction sector. The literature review aims to assess measures to improve workers' health and safety and ascertain their practicability in the industry, thereby striving to harmonize legislation with practical applications.

Hand and wrist complete degloving: A case report and litterature review

Complete hand degloving injuries are traumatic avulsion injuries causing the skin to pull away from the underlying tissues and are most often caused by industrial machinery. We present the case of a degloving trauma of the whole fingers, hand, and wrist resulting in a "watch hand" by analogy with the "ring finger" and discuss alternatives and recommendations from the rare cases described of similar traumas. A 33-year-old manual worker, a non-smoker with no significant medical or surgical comorbidities, was admitted for a complete skin avulsion of the left hand and wrist following a work-related accident with a trommel-type industrial roller. Our approach covered the five fingers and the dorsal aspect of the hand and wrist with an artificial dermal matrix, while the palmar side of the hand and wrist was covered with a pedicled groin flap in emergency. At 15months, the patient's sensitivity was classified as S1 on the sensory evaluation scale, joint mobility was less than 30°, and the residual hand retained what we might call "basic" functions, i.e., a counterweight when carrying loads and the ability to pick up and hold a light object in the thumb-index grasp. Complete soft tissue hand defects are exceptional and require urgent treatment. If re-implantation is not possible, combining a dermal matrix with a pedicled flap is a simple salvage solution. The risks of vascular, infectious, and stiffening complications in these traumas are high and must be prevented. Patients must be warned of the severity of the trauma, the need for secondary surgeries to restore a policy-digital grip, and the poor functional results expected.

How Safety Knowledge and Work Environment Affect Workplace Accidents: Uncovering the Role of Safety Behaviors

Workplace accidents in hospitals can arise from human or environmental factors, highlighting the necessity of implementing Hospital Occupational Safety and Health (HOSH) measures. Preliminary study at X Hospital shows that work-related accidents persist, with the majority leading to physical injuries. This study aims to observe the impact of HOSH knowledge and the work environment on nurse workplace accidents, with safety behaviors serving as a mediating factor. The research utilizes a quantitative survey method with a cross-sectional design. A total of 123 nurses participated in the study. An analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to assess the statistical impact. The findings indicate that improving Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) knowledge and enhancing the work environment can significantly reduce workplace accidents. The mediating role of safety behaviors further amplifies this effect. Both HOSH knowledge and the work environment have a positive significant impact on safety behaviors, while HOSH knowledge, the work environment, and safety behaviors each have a negative significant impact on workplace accidents

Sickness absence after work accidents and post-traumatic stress among white-collar workers in the retail and wholesale industry; a longitudinal Swedish cohort study

BackgroundMost studies about accidents and about PTSD, respectively, have been conducted either on blue-collar workers, or on the entire working population. There are very few such studies on white-collar workers.AimTo examine diagnosis-specific sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) after a work accident or PTSD, respectively, among white-collar workers in the private retail and wholesale industry.MethodsA prospective population-based cohort study of all 192,077 such workers aged 18–67 (44% women) in Sweden in 2012, using linked microdata from nationwide registers. We identified individuals who had secondary healthcare due to work-related accidents (n = 1114; 31% women) or to PTSD (n = 216; 79% women) in 2012–2016. Their average number of net days of diagnosis-specific SA (in SA spells > 14 days) and DP were calculated for 365 days before and 365 days after the healthcare visit.Results35% of the women and 24% of the men had at least one new SA spell during the 365 days after healthcare due to work accidents. Among women, the average number of SA/DP days increased from 14 in the year before the visit to 31 days the year after; among men from 9 to 21 days. SA days due to fractures and other injuries increased most, while SA days due to mental diagnoses increased somewhat. 73% of women and 64% of men who had healthcare due to PTSD had at least one new SA spell in the next year. Women increased from 121 to 157 SA/DP days and men from 112 to 174. SA due to stress-related disorders and other mental diagnoses increased the most, while DP due to stress-related diagnoses and SA due to musculoskeletal diagnoses increased slightly.ConclusionsAbout a quarter of those who had secondary healthcare due to work accidents, and the majority of those with such healthcare due PTSD, had new SA in the following year. SA due to injury and mental diagnoses, respectively, increased most, however, SA/DP due to other diagnoses also increased slightly. More knowledge is needed on factors associated with having or not having SA/DP in different diagnoses after work accidents and among people with PTSD.

Stress and work-related accidents among food delivery riders in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Stress and work-related accidents among food delivery riders in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Evaluating the Level of Safety Climate and the Prevalence of Work-related Accidents Considering the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction (Case Study: Shabnam Food Industry)

Background and Objective: The spread of accidents in various industries shows the need to pay more attention to safety factors and try to improve employees' job satisfaction. This research aims to evaluate the safety atmosphere level and the prevalence of work-related accidents by considering the mediating role of job satisfaction in the Shabnam food industry. Materials and methods: This research is an applied and descriptive-non-experimental research, during which a sample of 122 employees of the Shabnam food industry was selected to distribute the questionnaire. To measure the relationship between research variables, a researcher-made questionnaire including 3 variables and 36 items was used, and a structural equation model and SPSS26 and LISREL8.8 software were used to check the hypotheses. Results: The analytical results of the data showed that the evaluation of the level of safety climate and job satisfaction harmed the prevalence of accidents caused by work. Also, the review of the level of safety climate had a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction. Finally, the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between the assessment of the level of safety climate and the prevalence of work-related accidents was confirmed. Conclusion: It was recommended that Shabnam food industry officials improve the safety atmosphere of the work environment by creating a safe work environment by providing safety equipment and relevant training and controlling the statistics of accidents; It was also concluded that paying attention to the needs of employees and getting their satisfaction can increase the speed of this process.

Two Decades of Fatal Workplace Accidents in Milan and Monza, Italy: Trends, Work Sectors, and Causes From Autoptic Data.

Work-related fatalities represent an important global public health threat, accounting for over 300,000 deaths annually. Despite preventive strategies, fatalities persist, necessitating comprehensive investigations. Autoptic investigations, when ordered, offer comprehensive data on fatal accidents, in particular with detailed information about the type of accident, lesions, and type of work, enabling a thorough analysis of various factors contributing to workplace deaths. This study investigates work-related fatalities in Milan and Monza Brianza, Lombardy, analyzing patterns, industries, and factors leading to death among workers. This retrospective study analyzed all fatal work accident data from the Autopsy Database of the Legal Medicine Institute of Milan from January 2000 to December 2022. We also estimated the risk of fatal accidents per 1.00.000 workers using ISTAT data for the different work sectors. Of the 17,841 violent deaths in Milan and Monza Brianza, 308 resulted from work-related accidents. The majority were male (95.1%). The secondary sector showed the higher estimated risk (27 /106 vs. 19/106 in primary and 2.3/106 in tertiary sector) accounted for 78.5% of fatalities, with specialized workers (35.1%) and construction workers (25%) being the most affected. Falls from above were the leading cause of death (36.7%). A decreasing trend in fatal accidents over the study period was observed, with July having the greatest frequency. The most common causes of death were polytrauma (36.4%) and head injuries (19.2%). Non-Italian workers constitute a noteworthy percentage of fatal cases (24%). The secondary sector has the most fatal accidents at work despite a decrease in accidents over the observed time period. There is a need for rigorous analysis and interventions, using forensic autopsy case data to help understand causes, and collaboration between institutions is encouraged to develop effective preventive policies.

Fatal occupational injuries in fishing, farming and forestry 2010-2015.

Every year, 2.3 million people worldwide succumb to work-related accidents and illnesses. The primary industries have long been acknowledged with elevated accident risks. Recent levels and trends of injury and associated fatalities in these sectors are uncertain. An enhanced understanding of these risks in these industries is required for effective injury prevention in the future. This study aimed to describe registered fatalities in the primary industries worldwide, exploring potential disparities between countries and identifying trends in injury rates. Data were obtained on fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers in farming, fishing and forestry for the years 2010-2015 from the International Labour Organization ILO-STAT database. Descriptive statistics and mixed-model regression analyses were conducted. Fatal occupational injuries in upper- and middle-income countries were compared. The study incorporated data from 32 countries: 21 from Europe. America had the highest mean occupational fatality injury rate (76.9). The highest recorded rates for individual countries occurred in Colombia in 2014 (265.2) and Lithuania in 2015 (75.0), and the lowest in Greece in 2012 (0.2). Significant variation in injury rates was evident among the countries. There was no trend in the incidence of fatal injuries from 2010 to 2015, neither for all countries, nor Europe. Middle-income countries had higher occupational fatality injury rate than upper-income countries. The occupational fatality injury rate exhibited considerable variation, ranging from 0.9 to 265.2, and the injury rate was lowest in upper-income countries. There was no trend in the figures 2010-2015.

Application of The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) Method to Improve Work Safety in The Automotive Spare Parts Industry

This industry consists of companies engaged in metal processing and workmanship. Companies often receive complaints from employees concerning pain or discomfort in their bodies, causing diseases such as low back pain and myalgia. The risk of accidents occurring at work is inseparable from the work done. Work-related accidents can occur due to several factors, including unsafe action. One cause of unsafe actions can be found in various unsafe work postures that workers assume. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the posture of these workers so that it can improve their safety and health. This research was conducted by identifying occupational risks workers face and examining work performed in stamping products. The production section consists of six stations: material handling, stamping, welding, hemming, painting, and packing. The work risks run by workers have been identified using the Nordic Body Map (NBM) questionnaire and interview methods. As for the identification of the type of work carried out by evaluating work postures, the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method has been employed. The risk level of accidents is also used for the selection of activities to be improved to minimize the level of injury risk caused by work postures that have been assumed, and in order to improve the safety and health of the workers. Improvements made are in engineering, such as manufacturing of assistive devices, and management engineering, such as providing directions that can improve the specific work posture used. Calculations are based on simulations performed with tools conducted with suggested postures by evaluation using the REBA method. Based on the results of REBA calculations, the resulting risk is lower than the one caused by the previously assumed posture, namely medium and low.

The Accident Rate in the Construction Sector: A Work Proposal for Its Reduction through the Standardization of Safe Work Processes

The statistics on work-related accidents published by the responsible organizations reveal that the average rate of work accidents within the construction sector is more than double that in other industrial sectors. This serious problem has been analyzed by numerous international organizations and institutes dedicated to occupational safety, health and welfare. Therefore, in this article, some results of a research project that aims to reduce workplace accidents through the standardization of safe work processes and procedures in construction sites are summarized. The proposed methodology consisted of the analysis of national and international bibliographies to analyze the different annual variations in the accident rate, allowing a common pattern to be located, as well as its association with the work processes carried out in construction projects to standardize each of the processes which are present in the execution and life phases of the building. It is possible to conclude that the accident rates can be reduced and/or eliminated with the application of each of the processes thanks to the obtained results.

Work-related road traffic accidents: emergence of new modes of personal journey – analysis based on data from a register of road traffic accidents in France

IntroductionAccording to the 2018–2019 People Mobility Survey, work-related journeys (commuting and on-duty journeys) account for approximately 25% of all journeys. The use of non-motorised (nm) and motorised (m) personal mobility...

THE NECESSITY OF PROTECTING LIVES: THE LUCAS LAW AS A STARTING POINT FOR OTHER LABOR SECTORS

Objective: To analyze the importance of first aid within the business context, highlighting the necessity and benefits of training employees to effectively handle emergency situations. Theoretical Framework: The Lucas Law prevents tragedies by training professionals for emergencies, increasing survival rates. It emphasizes the importance of daily preparedness and serves as a starting point for promoting public policies that encourage companies to train employees in first aid. Method: A qualitative research was conducted in scientific articles, using an integrative literature review, identifying the theme and guiding question; establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results and Discussion: It is estimated that workplace accidents cause an annual loss of 4% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), with Brazil ranking fourth worldwide in fatal workplace accidents. Research with rural workers showed that 11% suffered some work-related accident within a year. These data highlight the importance of proper training for the prevention of workplace accidents. Research Implications: This research highlights the importance of first aid training in the business environment, promoting a safe workplace and influencing public policies on accident prevention. Originality/Value: This study underscores the critical need for first aid in the business environment, offering an innovative approach to training. Its relevance is evidenced by the potential reduction in workplace accidents and the promotion of a safer environment

A pseudonymized corpus of occupational health narratives for clinical entity recognition in Spanish

Despite the high creation cost, annotated corpora are indispensable for robust natural language processing systems. In the clinical field, in addition to annotating medical entities, corpus creators must also remove personally identifiable information (PII). This has become increasingly important in the era of large language models where unwanted memorization can occur. This paper presents a corpus annotated to anonymize personally identifiable information in 1,787 anamneses of work-related accidents and diseases in Spanish. Additionally, we applied a previously released model for Named Entity Recognition (NER) trained on referrals from primary care physicians to identify diseases, body parts, and medications in this work-related text. We analyzed the differences between the models and the gold standard curated by a physician in detail. Moreover, we compared the performance of the NER model on the original narratives, in narratives where personal information has been masked, and in texts where the personal data is replaced by another similar surrogate value (pseudonymization). Within this publication, we share the annotation guidelines and the annotated corpus.

Epidemiology of work-related hand and wrist injuries in a referral center: A descriptive study.

Occupational hand and wrist injuries (OHWIs) account for 25% of work-related accidents in low- and middle-income countries. In Colombia, more than 500000 occupational accidents occurred in 2021, and although the rate declined to less than 5% in 2020 and 2021, at least one in four accidents involved a hand or wrist injury. To describe the OHWIs in workers seen at the emergency room at a second-level hospital in Colombia. An observational study was performed using data from workers who experienced OHWIs and attended a second-level hospital, between June, 2020 and May, 2021. The overall frequency of OHWIs, as well as their distribution by sociodemographic, clinical, and occupational variables, are described. Furthermore, association patterns between sex, anatomical area (fingers, hand, wrist), and type of job were analyzed by correspondence analysis (CA). There were 2.101 workers treated for occupational accidents, 423 (20.3%) were cases of OHWIs, which mainly affected men (93.9%) with a median age of 31 years and who worked mainly in mining (75.9%). OHWIs were more common in the right upper extremity (55.3%) and comprised different types of injuries, such as contusion (42.1%), laceration (27.9%), fracture (18.7%), and crush injury (15.6%). They primarily affected the phalanges (95.2%), especially those of the first finger (25.7%). The CAs showed associations between the injured anatomical area and the worker's job that differed in men and women (explained variance > 90%). One out of five workers who suffered occupational accidents in Cundinamarca, Columbia had an OHWI, affecting mainly males employed in mining. This occupational profile is likely to lead to prolonged rehabilitation, and permanent functional limitations. Our results might be useful for adjusting preventive measures in cluster risk groups.

Spring coil displacement after interventional embolization of severe pelvic fracture: a case report.

Haemorrhagic shock, which arises as a complication of pelvic fracture subsequent to severe trauma, represents a perilous state. The utilization of interventional endovascular haemostasis assumes a pivotal role in the management of patients with vascular injury following pelvic fracture. This article reports the treatment of a patient with pelvic fracture caused by a serious work-related vehicle accident. Despite the implementation of timely blood and fluid transfusion to combat shock, the application of aortic balloon obstruction, and interventional iliac artery embolization for haemostasis, the patient's condition failed to display any discernible improvement. Repeat angiography further revealed a displacement of the interventional embolization material, and the patient subsequently died of multiple organ failure. The occurrence of spring coil displacement is infrequent, but the consequences thereof are considered grave, necessitating meticulous discernment in the selection of haemostatic materials for this type of patient. The diagnostic and therapeutic processes encompassing the particular case described here were analysed and are discussed with the objective of augmenting the efficacy and success rate of treatment modalities for patients in similar circumstances.

Principal and Secondary Diagnoses Related to Eye Injury: Characteristics from a tertiary center in Northern Thailand

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the epidemiological characteris-tics of primary and secondary diagnoses of eye injuries requiring hospitali-zation in a tertiary referral center. METHODS The medical records of 726 patients with diagnoses of eye injury who were admitted between January 2016 and December 2019 were reviewed. RESULTS Four hundred and thirty-six of the patients (60.1%) were hospitalized with a principal diagnosis related to eye injury, while 290 patients (39.9%) were admitted with secondary diagnoses. Over the four-year period of study, the proportion of admissions with a principal diagnosis stayed consistently in the range of 54.0% to 63.9%. Most of the patients in the principal diagnosis group were age between 41 and 60 years. Patients in the secondary diagnosis group, however, were mostly between the age of 21 and 40 years. The majority of patients in the principal diagnosis group (267 patients, 61.2%) had eye injuries which had occurred at work, whereas in the secondary diagnosis group most (230 patients, 79.3%) had eye injuries resulting from traffic accidents. CONCLUSIONS Work-related accidents and traffic accidents were the two main types of at-risk behaviors in both the primary and secondary diagnosis categories. Initiatives for public health education related to eye injuries should pay more special attention to these two primary causes of severe eye injuries. KEYWORDS principal diagnosis, secondary diagnosis, eye injury, hos- pitalization

Hierarchical Structure of Small–Medium Enterprise Accidents Contributing to Legal Proceedings Resulting in Judicial Verdicts Using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Abstract Aim: The present study aims to identify and model factors influencing accidents in small–medium enterprises based on judicial orders. Methods: This study was conducted in two primary phases. The first phase involved analyzing legal documents related to work-related accidents to extract factors influencing accidents in SMEs. In the second phase, interpretive structural modeling (ISM) was employed to hierarchically model these factors and understand their relationships using ISM Excel base software. Ten experts from various Iranian universities and industrial companies participated in the study, contributing to the completion of matrices used in the ISM model. Results: In this study, 10 primary factors contributing to accident occurrences in SMEs were identified and categorized into three main groups: Individual factors related to the incident (comprising five subfactors), organizational factors (comprising three subfactors), and conditional factors (comprising two subfactors). The subsequent phase involved modeling the identified factors using the ISM technique. The results revealed that three factors – training, equipment-related factors, and hazardous processes or harsh environments – were placed at level 2, designating them as the key factors influencing accidents. Conclusion: The current research demonstrates that in SMEs, conditional and organizational factors like equipment shortcomings, hazardous processes, and insufficient training for workers are key factors in accident occurrences within these systems. Consequently, by controlling these factors, improvements in their safety conditions can be pursued.

Occupational Accidents in Agriculture in a Developing Country: What are the Particularities? Example of the Société de Cultures Légumières (SCL) of Saint-Louis in Senegal between 2017 and 2021

This study aimed at describing the types of occupational accidents in an agriculture company in Senegal where that field, even on a large scale, has retained a large part of manual activities; it also help to point out the factors involved in order to identify major areas for prevention. We made a retrospective study from January 1st, 2017, to December 31st, 2021, at the SCL, covering all victims of work-related accidents according to the ILO definition. There were 965 occupational accidents, of which 131 (13%) are commuting accidents. Lost-time injuries accounted for 44.4%. Accidents were of low severity in 88.7% of cases, high in 6.8% of cases and very high in 4.5% of cases. The frequency and severity rates were respectively 24.3% and 0.24%. The victims were mainly men (67.8%), aged on average 35.3 years and working in their positions for 3.4 years. The predominant lesion was wound with 46.9% of cases. The severity of the accident was inversely related to seniority. It was also related to gender, with women having more serious accidents than men. Commuting accidents were also 14.2 times more serious than on-site accidents. Occupational accidents in agriculture are more common in developing countries. Unlike developed countries, they are more often of low to very low severity. Hand tools are the mostly incriminated and lack of experience is one of the prominent factors.

Research on Occupational Risk Assessment for Welder Occupation in Romania

The ever-increasing needs of the working population have led to the development of various branches of industry, an increase in the number of employees, and a rise in the number of work-related accidents. The welder occupation is one of the most sought after occupations in Europe, according to the EURopean Employment Services (EURES) statistics. Taking into account the work system in which welders conduct their activity (uncomfortable working positions, splashes, high temperatures, mechanical factors, gases and fumes, magnetic fields due to electric current), the paper presents the risk factors identified for the welder occupation, based on the occupational injury and illness risk assessments. Following the analysis of 25 risk assessments, carried out by the assessment team that must include qualified evaluators, process specialists, the workers’ representative, occupational health and safety responsible at various industrial economic agents, a total of 70 main risk factors of occupational accidents and diseases were identified for the welder occupation. Risk factors were classified according to four main work components: worker, workload, work environment, and means of production. To reflect the importance of the identified risk factor, the number of organizations that considered that the risk was likely to occur but also the possibility that the risk was above the acceptable limit, calculated using the National Institute for Research and Development for Labor Protection “Alexandru Darabont” (INCDPM) method, a method often used in Romania, was identified from the analyzed assessments. Finally, a prevention and protection plan was drawn up with regard to the risks identified for the welder occupation, the final aim of which was to respectively reduce the probability of occurrence with the severity of the risks identified.