Work-Related Injuries among Insured Construction Workers Presenting to a Swiss Adult Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study (2016-2020).

Dethlefsen, Ralf; Orlik, Luisa; Müller, Martin; Exadaktylos, Aristomenis K; Scholz, Stefan M; Klukowska-Rötzler, Jolanta; Ziaka, Mairi (2022). Work-Related Injuries among Insured Construction Workers Presenting to a Swiss Adult Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study (2016-2020). International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(18) MDPI 10.3390/ijerph191811294

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Occupational injuries are one of the main causes of Emergency Department visits and represent a substantial source of disability or even death. However, the published studies and reports on construction-occupational accidents in Switzerland are limited. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal injuries among construction workers older than 16 years of age over a 5-year period. Data were gathered from the emergency department (ED) of Bern University Hospital. A retrospective design was chosen to allow analysis of changes in construction accidents between 2016-2020. A total of 397 patients were enrolled. Compared to studies in other countries, we also showed that the upper extremity and falling from height is the most common injured body part and mechanism of injury. Furthermore, we were able to show that the most common age group representing was 26-35 years and the second common body part injured was the head, which is a difference from studies in other countries. Wound lacerations were the most common type of injury, followed by joint distortions. By stratifying according to the season, occupational injuries among construction workers were found to be significant higher during summer and autumn. As work-related injuries among construction workers are becoming more common, prevention strategies and safety instructions must be optimized.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Anaesthesiology (DINA) > University Emergency Center

UniBE Contributor:

Müller, Martin (B), Exadaktylos, Aristomenis, Klukowska-Rötzler, Jolanta

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1660-4601

Publisher:

MDPI

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pubmed Import

Date Deposited:

27 Sep 2022 08:56

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:38

Publisher DOI:

10.3390/ijerph191811294

PubMed ID:

36141566

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Suva adult emergency department construction site accidents work-related injuries

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/173243

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/173243

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