The burden of occupational injury: A 1-year prospective study in Xuan Tien Commune, Viet Nam

• Published in: American journal of industrial medicine 2012-03, Vol.55 (3), p.205-216
• Main Authors: Marucci-Wellman, Helen, Leamon, Tom B., Binh, Ta Thi Tuyet, Diep, Nguyen Bich, Wegman, David H., Kriebel, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidents, Occupational - economics; Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data; active surveillance; Agriculture; Biological and medical sciences; burden; Community Health Services; Developing Countries; Humans; Industry; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Occupational Injuries - economics; Occupational Injuries - epidemiology; occupational injury; Occupational medicine; Population Surveillance; Prospective Studies; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Viet Nam; Vietnam - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0271-3586; 1097-0274
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.21039

Background Developing nations carry a substantial portion of the global burden of injury, but without reliable injury surveillance, there is no way to characterize or prioritize the causes of work‐related injury for prevention. Methods Injury data from 52 treatment sites in the Xuan Tien Commune, Vietnam with over 10,000 inhabitants were collected between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Injured residents were interviewed to determine work‐relatedness, relevant causes, disability, and burden. Results Five hundred four work‐related injuries were reported from formal treatment sites (incidence rate of 87 per 1,000 FTE) with a mean lost work day of 11 days. Four thousand five hundred seventy‐four lost work day equivalents were estimated based on actual days lost to recover plus work days lost earning income to pay for medical costs, accumulating a total direct burden to the community of 8,641 lost work day equivalents. Almost half of that burden was caused by work in manufacturing. First aid boxes placed in 40 manufacturing enterprises yielded the 2nd highest reporting source. Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility and value at the local level to build an active injury surveillance system which could have a large impact on preventing the burden of injuries in workplaces in Vietnam. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:205–216, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.