Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs
Open Access

Abstract

Work related injuries continue to contribute to the global burden of disease and injuries. According to recent global estimates, about a million workers are injured and a thousand die per day due to work injuries. In Sweden, trends in reporting work place injuries have varied over time with various peaks and troughs. Differences have been observed between the reporting of injuries requiring sick leaves and those requiring no sick leaves, the so called ?zero? accidents. There are however few studies exploring the specific trends and patterns of occupational injuries in Sweden. Even problematic is the fact that available studies are very industry specific. Aim: To explore trends in workplace injuries and associated socio-demographic risk factors in the county of Gävleborg, Sweden. The study also aims to look at sick leave patterns in terms of total number of days absent from week and their determinants. Method: The study is based on retrospective longitudinal data comprising of all cases of work place accidents between 1992 and 2012 which were reported to the Swedish social insurance agency. A total of 24129 cases were reported across different industries. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results: Preliminary results show that work place injuries vary by social demographic factors (such as age, sex, type of employment status) and industry. Results also show that age and sex are major determinants of total number of sick leave days. Conclusion: The implication for interventions and further research are discussed.

Biography

Leah Okenwa Emegwa completed her PhD in Social Medicine/Public health sciences in 2011 from the Karolinska Medical University (Karolinska Institutet), Sweden. She is currently a senior lecturer at the department of Public and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Gävle, Sweden. She serves as a reviewer for reputable journals.