Pattern of Work-Related Injuries in Kashan, Iran, 2005-2010

Worked-related injury has been considered one of the most important health problems in developing countries; however, it is often disregarded as an important health issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of work-related extremity injuries in Kashan during a five-year period. In this cross-sectional study, the data of the work-related injury cases were collected from the data bank of Trauma Research Center at Kashan University of Medical Sciences from 2005 to 2010. The variables included sex, age, injured organs, injury mechanisms, and educational levels and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, using SPSS software version 20. In total, 2122 (97.9% male, 2.1% female) patients comprised the study sample. The mean age of patients was 30.9 ± 11.9 years. Most (11.9%) were between 21 and 30 years of age; most were young men. The most common cause of injury was related to contact with industrial machinery in 1170 cases (55.2%). The most frequently injured body organs were the hand or wrist in 1253 cases (59%) in upper limbs. There was a significant correlation between sex and injury mechanism among the patients (p = 0.00), as well as between the occupation and injury mechanism (p ≤ 0.05). Based on the obtained results, accidents are the most common cause of injury to workers as a result of contact with industrial machinery; therefore, prevention programs and regular safety assessments by the technical committee can be significantly effective in identifying hazards and guidelines, particularly in terms of personal factors.