Occupational injuries and contributing factors among industry park construction workers in Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundConstruction business is currently the second greatest source of injuries in Ethiopia after automotive accidents, with a risk of fatality that is five times higher than that of other industrial sectors. To establish measures for injury prevention, it is crucial to assess the severity of occupational injuries and identify the variables that contribute to them. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with occupational injuries among Bure Industrial Park construction workers, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsAn institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 372 construction workers at Bure Industrial Park. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling method. The data were collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and work environment observation using structured checklist. In the descriptive statistic, frequencies, proportion, and mean were calculated and the results of the analysis were presented in text and tables. The bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify independent factors having associations with the occurrence of occupational injury.ResultsThe overall prevalence of occupational injuries among Bure industrial park construction workers was 39.4%, 95%C.I (34.4%-44.4%). Factors such as sex (being male) [AOR = 1.74, 95%CI (1.02–2.97)], being married [AOR = 2.79, 95%CI (1.50–5.17)], no use of personal protective equipment [AOR = 1.67, 95%CI (1.12–2.85)], no training on occupational safety [AOR = 1.45, 95%CI (1.06–2.98)], and not satisfied with the job [AOR = 5.97, 95%CI (3.48–10.2)] were the factors associated with occupational injuries.Conclusion and recommendationThe finding shows the public health importance of occupational injury among construction workers in the study area. Numerous factors have been linked to workplace injuries, including sex, marital status, the usage of personal protection equipment, training in occupational safety, and job satisfaction. As a result, in order to lower the rate of occupational injury, employers should prioritize offering safety training, encouraging the use of personal protective equipment while working, conducting routine workplace inspections, and ensuring that their staff members are happy at work by providing comfortable workspaces.

Computerized Predictive Analysis of Accidents (FOCOS/PRONTOS System): Study of Rare Cases

“…As an alternative, it is necessary to invest in actions to minimize mental fatigue in workers, intervening in the control of schedules, shifts and workloads, planned rest, climatization of the environment, considering that extreme temperatures imply serious occupational risks, job satisfaction by providing safe and comfortable spaces, promoting social interaction, requiring the use of personal protective equipment and enabling psychological counseling [10,11,14,16,17,34,35,36,37].…”

“…There is evidence of multiple factors contributing to unsafe workplaces, including unsafe conditions, technical factors, complexity of the site structure, and unsafe human behavior [8,9]. Some of the causes attributed to these issues are mental fatigue from stressful work environments, excessive time and workload demands, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, negative attitudes towards work, and managerial errors in decision-making that increase risktaking behavior; irregular sleep patterns, loneliness, and distraction from interactive automotive technology interfaces [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Another factor is heat stress and difficulty in evaluating biometric signs and thermophysiological constraints, implicated as being among the factors that increase vulnerability to accident and injury risks during work [16].…”

Seguridad y salud en el trabajo en la industria de la construcción: importancia de la prevención y la concientización

“…Se puede describir a la seguridad en el trabajo como la prevención de incidentes y accidentes que puedan sufrir los trabajadores en su zona de trabajo, causando lesiones físicas leves o graves, y puede darse en el peor de los casos, de causar la muerte; por lo tanto, la seguridad se relaciona con prevención y disminución de riesgos y peligros, ya sean físicos, químicos, biológicos y también psicológicos; asimismo, la salud ocupacional se define como la prevención y control de enfermedades que se presenten en los trabajadores y así puedan realizar sus actividades con normalidad. Por ende, la seguridad y salud ocupacional tiene como propósito prevenir, controlar, y evitar actos que causen daño y afecten a la salud de los trabajadores haciendo un adecuado manejo de los implementos y equipos de seguridad y así lograr que los colaboradores se encuentren seguros y sanos (Yosef et al, 2023).…”