Open AccessA Significant Outcome of Work Life: Occupational Accidents in a Developing Country, Turkey
Author(s) -
Ergör O. Alp,
Demiral Yücel,
Piyal Y. Bülent
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.45.74
Subject(s) - occupational safety and health , environmental health , work (physics) , case fatality rate , evening , developing country , injury prevention , poison control , demography , geography , socioeconomics , medicine , business , engineering , economic growth , sociology , economics , population , mechanical engineering , physics , pathology , astronomy
A Significant Outcome of Work Life: Occupational Accidents in a Developing Country, Turkey: O. Alp Ergör, et al. Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey —Occupational accident rates are high in the developing world and they are among the crucial indicators of work life. The data on serious occupational accidents in three years from the Aegean Region of Turkey were analyzed in order to define the working life situation. The data for 1995–97 were obtained from The Social Insurance Institution. Variables were defined for workers, work environment and working conditions for descriptive analysis. The relationships between these variables and outcomes of the occupational accidents were analyzed. The fatality risk was 2.6 times higher for mining and construction than for the production sector (p<0.001), and 1.6 times higher for evening and night shifts than for day shifts (p<0.01). Mortality from being struck by something, falls, motor vehicle accidents and electrocutions were significantly higher than being cut or in, under or between objects (OR 3.5, 8.7, 23.1, 26.1 respectively and p<0.01). As a conclusion, it was suggested that within the globalization picture, occupational health problems in the developing world should be explored intensively in order to establish effective prevention programs.