Annalysis of occupational injuries reported by healthcare workers

Abstract

This study aims to analyze occupational injuries including biological exposure accidents, serious accidents and illnesses regarding work such as repetitive strain injuries (RSI/WRMSD) in a Healthcare Center of Curitiba, PR, during 2007. It is a quantitative, descriptive and retrospective epidemiological research. Data were obtained from SINAN-NET database; 1249 notifications of occupational accidents were analyzed, from which 637 referred to biological exposure, 592 to serious accidents and 20 to RSI/WRMSD. Women were most prevalent in biological exposure accidents, with 539 cases (84.6%). During follow up, most of the workers (n=339; 53.2%) dropped out. From the 592 (100%) registered cases of serious accidents, 524 (88.5%) involved men and 68 (11.4%) women. Almost all workers (n=564; 95.2%) had temporary disability; 23 (3.8%) were cured and returned to work and 03 (0.5%) had partial disability. In this study, 20 workers reported RSI/WRMSD, being 14 (70%) women and 06 (30%) men, and only one patient (5%) was discharged while the others are still under investigation of causality. Results confirm that exposure is a very serious question concerning healthcare workers and it deserves special attention