The Disease Burden Of Nonfatal Occupational Injuries In An Electric Locomotive Manufacturing Company

Occupational injuries are referred to accidental injuries caused by exterior factors at work leading to serious socioeconomic consequence,which is recognized as one of the most important but preventable occupational safety and health problems. According to the International Labor Organization(ILO),there are about 270 million occupational accidents each year worldwide,causing 0.36 million work-related deaths annually.In developing countries,the situation is even worse.Mechanical manufacturing is known as an industry at higher risk of causing work-related injury in China.In the past decades,the electric locomotive industry was rapidly developed and played an important role in boosting of railway construction in China.However,very few studies on work-related injuries were reported from similar manufacturing industry in this country.The present study attempts to probe a bit further insight into this scarce area with the angle of epidemiology and health-economy.We retrospectively reviewed 202 registered non-fatal occupational injuries in the locomotive vehicle manufacturing between the period of 2004-06-01 and 2008-05-31. The characteristics of work-injury accidents and main causes were analyzed.The injuries mainly occurred in autumn,and upper as well as lower extremities were common anatomic sites of the injury.The most frequent types of the injuries were fracture and crush.The main causes included improper manipulation,bad cooperation and fatigue.Also,multi-causes played an important role on inducing occupational injuries.The prevention and control measures of non-fatal occupational injuries should be taken according to these characteristics.The case-control study was applied to examine the difference on socioeconomic characteristics and occupational factors between injured and uninjured.202 victims and 411 controls were interviewed.The results showed that high work load and short work experience increased the injury proneness. A retrospectively descriptive analysis review was applied to estimate the direct cost of the victims in the enterprise during the period of 2004-06-01 and 2008-05-31. By analyzing the total and average direct cost of non-fatal occupational injuries,the inpatient took the most proportion of direct cost.Severe injuries contributed the highest average direct cost,and mild injuries contributed the highest direct cost.For injury type,burns and fracture spent most of the direct cost,and burns contributed the highest average direct cost.Both total and average direct cost were found higher in males.Considering medical benefit payment was a large portion of workers' compensation cost,we estimated the determinants of the cost of outpatient and inpatient due to non-fatal occupational injuries in the enterprise during the period 2004-2008.The result showed that affecting factors of the cost of outpatient was injury type.Factors including injury time period and the duration of being hospitalized directly contributed the major cost of inpatient.Marital status,injury type, and anatomic site indirectly affected the cost of inpatient by the duration of being hospitalized.Severity of injury was not only directly but also indirectly affected the cost of inpatient.To get deeper insight into the economic consequence of non-fatal occupational injuries;the retrospective descriptive analysis was taken to review the indirect cost and disease burden of 183 victims occurred between 2005 and 2007.Results showed that the total indirect cost was 654.56 million RMB,and DALYs were 467.63 years. Male injured contributed the most proportion of indirect cost and DALYs.Severe injuries contributed the highest average indirect cost and DALYs.Injury type with the highest indirect cost and DALYs was facture,while type with the highest average indirect cost and DALYs was burns.The indirect cost and DALYs had shown an increased tendency since 2005.To further study the disease burden of non-fatal occupational injuries,we estimated the determinants of DALY caused by occupational injuries.The result showed that age,gender,hospitalization,and severity of injury influenced the magnitude of DALYs.According to the above findings,comprehensive interventions are needed for prevention and control of non-fatal occupational injuries in the locomotive vehicle manufacturing enterprise.Meantime,findings of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis for occupational safety and health should be further explored.