Addressing occupational injuries occurred among veterinarians in Southeast Asia: A scoping review

Abstract

This study aims to identify injuries occurring among veterinarians in the Southeast Asia region and to identify prevention strategies for occupational injuries among veterinarians. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were used to search for articles reporting injuries among veterinarians. Search terms were explored based on MeSH identification after the determination of population, concept, and context. Only papers in English and reporting the injuries that occur in veterinarians were included in the study. Rayyan.ai - a tool screening website, was used for abstract and title screening. This study uses PRISMA ScR flowchart to guide the screening and process. In total, 369 articles were retrieved, 16 from PubMEd, 303 from Scopus, and 50 from Google Scholar. However, only the first 5 pages of Google Scholar were retrieved for screening as they became less relevant the further back they went. There were no articles that specifically mentioned occupational injuries among veterinarians in the Southeast Asia region. Nevertheless, 3 articles from Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, mentioned occupational injuries among animal health workers. From those 3 articles, it has been identified that animal-related injuries, sharp-related injuries, and ergonomics are the three most commonly reported incidents among animal health workers. Other incidents such as chemical and psychosocial were also reported. The lack of scientific articles reporting occupational safety and health incidents in veterinarians can be a double-edged sword. This could mean that there are no events to report. However, on the other hand, this should be of particular concern as it means that they are not well documented. Veterinarians, including other animal health workers, are one of the spearheads of zoonotic disease transmission. The findings emphasize the urgent need for targeted research and policy formulation in addressing occupational hazards and improving the well-being and safety of veterinarians.