[The present-day status of the legislation on occupational injuries and occupational diseases with regard to international relationships].
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BACKGROUND: Occupational injuries are a public health problem, estimated to kill more than 300,000 workers worldwide every year and to cause many more cases of disability. We estimate the global burden of fatal and non-fatal unintentional occupational injuries for the year 2000. METHODS: The economically active population (EAP) of about 2.9 billion workers was used as a surrogate of the population at risk for occupational injuries. Occupational unintentional injury fatality rates for insured workers, by country, were used to estimate WHO regional rates. These were applied to regional EAP to estimate the number of deaths. In addition to mortality, the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost, which measure both morbidity and mortality, were calculated for 14 WHO regions. RESULTS: Worldwide, hazardous conditions in the workplace were responsible for a minimum of 312,000 fatal unintentional occupational injuries. Together, fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries resulted in about 10.5 million DALYs; that is, about 3.5 years of healthy life are lost per 1,000 workers every year globally. Occupational risk factors are responsible for 8.8% of the global burden of mortality due to unintentional injuries and 8.1% of DALYs due to this outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational injuries constitute a substantial global burden. However, our findings greatly underestimate the impact of occupational risk factors leading to injuries in the overall burden of disease. Our estimates could not include intentional injuries at work, or commuting injuries, due to lack of global data. Additional factors contributing to grave underestimation of occupational injuries include limited insurance coverage of workers and substantial under-reporting of fatal injuries in record-keeping systems globally. About 113,000 deaths were probably missed in our analyses due to under-reporting alone. It is clear that known prevention strategies need to be implemented widely to diminish the avoidable burden of injuries in the workplace.
BACKGROUND: There is little reliable information about the incidence and severity of occupational injuries in Norway. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Occupational injuries occurring at worksites in Oslo and treated by Oslo Emergency Ward or Oslo Ambulance Service were recorded over a period of three months. Patients with serious injuries were interviewed about the accident. RESULTS: 1153 injury incidents were registered, 229 (20%) of which were considered serious. Median age of patients was 32 years. Estimated annual incidence of injuries at worksites in Oslo treated by Oslo Emergency Ward/Oslo Ambulance Service was 14 per 1000 employees, for all injuries in Oslo requiring treatment, 20 per 1000 employees. Men had three times the incidence of women. The incidence was highest in the youngest age groups. Of those with serious injuries, 30% had a non-Scandinavian language as their first language. Electricians, carpenters and police officers had the highest observed incidences. 87 injuries (8%) were caused by violence. INTERPRETATION: The incidence of occupational injuries in Oslo is reduced by about 40% since the 1970s. There is, however, no reduction for women. Construction workers are still at high risk. Workers of non-Scandinavian origin are also at high risk, probably because of selection into high-risk occupations. The injury register provides a good overview, but in-depth studies are needed to identify specific risk factors.
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Injuries account for more than 90% of the reported work-related health problems in the United States. However, a complete and standardized reporting system for occupational injuries does not exist in this country. This paper describes the first year's experience of a clinic-based occupational injury surveillance system involving occupational medicine clinics. During 1988, health and hazard information was collected on 14,156 work-related admissions. An analysis of these cases showed that most patients received care for minor trauma, with 78.4% of the cases classified as cuts or lacerations, sprains or strains, or contusions. Overall, 53.8% of the cases were caused by metal items, boxes, machines, or working surfaces. These preliminary results support the feasibility of conducting clinic-based occupational injury surveillance as a means of assisting employers with the control of work-related conditions.
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According to Croatian legislation disability, risk of disability and altered work capacity are prerequisites for recognition of job injuries, occupational diseases, and, consequently, of the worker's special rights. That is also valid for all areas of insurance. The legislation, if applied, would make it impossible for a great number of insured workers to realize their particular rights based on work related health damage, especially in the field of health insurance and reinsurance of health care costs. Health insurance boards, along with insurance companies, manage by evading the condition of disability, risk of disability and altered work capacity. This has been proved on a sample of 63 cases of job injuries and one occupational disease registered in the Occupational safety unit of the Clinical Hospital in Split from May 1994 to May 1995. In all cases the medical doctor of choice, the authorized health insurance board and the authorized insurance company enabled the insured (workers injured at work or having occupational disease, the employer) to make use of their specific insurance rights without waiting for the fulfillment of the prescribed condition of disability, risk of disability and altered work capacity. The authors consider such behaviour to be inadmissible in a state based on the rule of law. If the condition of disability, risk of disability and altered work capacity is unsuitable, as indeed it is, a solution should be sought for in changing the regulations. The simplest way of doing it is to invert the defining and taking over decrees in the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance and the Law on Health Insurance.
This study was designed to test whether the total objective adverse work and environmental conditions, expressed as the ergonomic stress level (ESL), would predict occupational injuries over a 2-year period. The study population consisted of 4,096 men from 21 factories in six industrial sectors who were studied as part of the Israeli Cardiovascular Occupational Risk Factors Determination in Israel (CORDIS) Study, 1985-1987. The ESL (assigned four levels, 1-4) was based on an ergonomic assessment which covered 17 risk factors pertaining to safety hazards, overcrowding, cognitive and physical demands, and environmental stressors. The ESL was found to be a highly reliable measure and stable over a period of 2-4 years. The incidence of injuries among workers in low ESL conditions (level 1) was 10.3%. It increased with higher ESL's: 11.7% in level 2 (relative risk (RR) = 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86-1.50); 21.6% in level 3 (RR = 2.09, 95% CI 1.68-2.62); and 23.8% in level 4 (RR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.85-2.88). After adjustment for age, job experience, educational level, managerial status, and occupational status (white/blue collar), injury occurrence was significantly elevated for those at level 3 (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.46, 95% CI 1.12-1.91) and level 4 (adjusted OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.39-2.37) but not for level 2 (adjusted OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.65-1.18). The authors conclude that adverse work and environmental conditions, objectively assessed, can predict occurrence of occupational injuries.
Injury is the leading cause of death in adolescence, with the highest rates for 15- to 19-year-olds, an age span also marked, for many, by entry into the workforce. Occupational injuries affecting youth occur in the context of the larger problem of injury affecting children and adolescents. An understanding of the broader context can help to guide efforts to control occupational injuries. Nonfatal injuries vastly exceed fatal ones, but more is known about the latter. Injuries are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for ages 1 to 44 years. The proportion of child and adolescent deaths due to injury has risen for several decades; injury rates have been stable while deaths from natural causes have declined. Injury patterns vary with age, race, and sex, and also internationally. The two leading causes of injury deaths for U.S. adolescents are motor vehicle occupant injury (related largely to alcohol) and homicide (related largely to firearms). Contemporary injury prevention approaches focus on means to prevent the transfer of damaging amounts of energy to potential victims. The most effective approaches are passive (engineering/environmental) and/or require one-time-only behaviors. Prevention of child and adolescent occupational injuries will need to build on approaches that have been successful for other child and adolescent injuries, as well ones that have been successful for adult occupational injuries. A multidisciplinary approach will be needed.
BACKGROUND: Information on which strategies have been shown to be effective, which are ineffective, and which strategies have been inadequately evaluated is important for both public policy and future research. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to provide systematic reviews of the literature on important strategies to prevent occupational, including agricultural, injuries. METHODS: The Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs) funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Centers for Agricultural Injury funded by the Division of Safety Research, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identified 12 important occupational and agricultural injury-prevention strategies or areas of research. Systematic reviews of the literature were conducted to identify relevant controlled trials and studies. These were critically reviewed and summarized. RESULTS: A total of 12 reviews were conducted on a range of topics in the occupational injury field. Few randomized controlled trials were found; most controlled studies were either comparisons over time and/or across different populations. In several areas we were limited to summarizing the descriptive literature. Nevertheless, summaries of these studies provide meaningful conclusions about the effectiveness of various interventions to decrease morbidity and mortality from selected occupational and agricultural injuries. CONCLUSIONS: A large body of literature on occupational, public health, or injury prevention interventions exists. The summary of this literature provides a framework to both direct policy and guide future research efforts.
Occupational injury surveillance in developing countries may be hindered by the lack of health data infrastructure as well the large numbers of informal-sector workers. The goal of this study was to elucidate the scope of occupational injury in the Monteverde district of Costa Rica using data collected through the national workers social security system. A list of occupational injuries occurring in the district reported to the National Insurance Institute (INS) central office between 1998 and 2002 was taken to the regional INS office, and the original injury reports for the cases were pulled. Specific data on the injuries were collected. There were 184 injuries reported during the five year period. Occupations with the highest number of injuries included production, building and grounds maintenance, and agricultural/forestry/fishing. Descriptive data showed that prevention efforts in this rural region should target food manufacturing, hotels, and construction.
The aim of the study was to find out what degree employees with occupational injuries and diseases knew about the new Act, and had received compensation in accordance with the provisions. In 1994, 6,755 questionnaires were sent to persons reported to the Labour Inspection as suffering from occupational injury or disease, 3,762 (56%) responded. The study shows that at the time of the investigation only a small minority of the persons who had been reported as having occupational injuries or diseases had received compensation. Even among those who had experienced loss of income, actual expenses, or medical disability, only one subject in four had filed a claim. A number of claims may have been rejected on unlawful grounds.
INTRODUCTION: Occupational injuries are notifiable in Denmark. Hitherto, occupational injuries caused by riding and horse handling have not been reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study comprises all cases reported to the National Working Environment Authority during the period 1992-1999. RESULTS: There were 634 occupational accidents, and 43% of the victims were below the age of 25 years with a four-in-one female preponderance. In contrast, there were only three cases of occupational disease. DISCUSSION: Occupational diseases ought to be much more common than suggested by these few reported cases. Respiratory and musculoskeletal problems, allergy, skin diseases, and noise-induced hearing loss--widespread in general farming--would be expected. Increased attention to occupational health hazards seems required in the equestrian environment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is revising its rule addressing the recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses (29 CFR parts 1904 and 1952), including the forms employers use to record those injuries and illnesses. The revisions to the final rule will produce more useful injury and illness records, collect better information about the incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses on a national basis, promote improved employee awareness and involvement in the recording and reporting of job-related injuries and illnesses, simplify the injury and illness recordkeeping system for employers, and permit increased use of computers and telecommunications technology for OSHA recordkeeping purposes. This rulemaking completes a larger overall effort to revise Part 1904 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Two sections of Part 1904 have already been revised in earlier rulemakings. A rule titled Reporting fatalities and multiple hospitalization incidents to OSHA, became effective May 2, 1994 and has been incorporated into this final rule as Section 1904.39. A second rule entitled Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more employers became effective on March 13, 1997 and has been incorporated into this final rule as Section 1904.41. The final rule being published today also revises 29 CFR 1952.4, Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements, which prescribes the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for States that have an occupational safety and health program approved by OSHA under Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the "Act" or "OSH Act").
The causes of occupational injuries (N = 2,365) were investigated. Accidents with machinery and hand tools were the two main causes (49.9%). 89% of the patients with occupational injuries were male. The highest risk group were in the age category of 19 years or less (51.9%). This age group also showed the highest incidence rate for females.
Household interviews were used to survey 21,105 persons living in 431 urban and rural sites in Ghana, to determine the nature and extent of their occupational injuries. Annual occupational injury rates were 11.5 injuries/1000 persons in the urban areas and 44.9/1000 in the rural areas. Occupational injuries had higher mortality, longer disability, and higher treatment costs than non-occupational injuries. There were substantial occupational injury rates among children, especially in rural areas. In the urban areas, the largest numbers of injuries were to drivers (12.7% of urban occupational injuries) and traders (19.4%), most of which were road-traffic-related. In the rural areas, most injuries (71.6%) were to farm workers. Occupational injuries are a substantial burden in Ghana. Priorities include improving road safety and improving the prevention and treatment of injuries from nonmechanized farming.
In order to explore the epidemiological characteristics and accident reasons of occupational injury, the data of Occupational injuries in the steel plant during employment from January 1988 to December 2001 were analysed. By retrospective analysis for the 14 year data of occupational injury, we found the decreasing trend of incidence of occupational injury in steel industry, male has greater incidence of occupational injury than female, the shorter of duration of employment means a greater incidence of occupational injury. The major body part of occupational injury are the head and extremity, the major nature of injury are burns and fracture. The most cause of injuries are violation of regulation and distraction of attention by the victim himself or herself, the next reasons are the limitation of equipments and the bad condition of production.