Incidence and Pattern of Non-fatal Occupational Injuries Among Construction Workers at Three Public Health Facilities in Nairobi

Abstract

Background. According to the International Labor Organization(ILO) report on Kenya, construction work is one of the most dangerous occupations only second to road traffic accidents in causation of worker injuries and fatalities. In the financial year 2010-2011, the construction industry ranked second in reported accidents accounting for 16% of accident fatalities and 7% of non-fatal accidental injuries. This study established the incidence and pattern of the non-fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry. Broad objective. The broad objective of this study was to determine the incidence and pattern of non-fatal occupational injuries at three public health facilities in Nairobi. Methods and materials. This was a cross sectional study carried out at three public health facilities namely, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital (MLKH) and Mbagathi Hospital. The study population were consenting adults who presented to these fa cilities having sustained occupational injuries from construction works. Data was collected through pretested questionnaires administered to consecutive patients. The data collected was cleaned and entered into a Microsoft Access database then exported to SPSS version 23.0 for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for continuous variables i.e. age and frequency and percentages which were used for categorical variables i.e. gender, type of injury and part of body injured. Common types of injuries were analyzed using proportions. Incidence of particular injuries were calculated by dividing the number of new cases by the total population (132) and multiplying the outcome by 100. publication. Results A total of 133 injured patients were recruited. Data was analysed for 132 participants. The mean age was 34 years. The proportion of males to females was 97.7% to 2.3%. Most of the injured workers were unskilled casual employee at 69.7%. Skilled contractual employees were 26.5% while only 3.8% were permanent professional employees. Falls from heights was the leading cause of injuries at 42.6%, followed by equipment related failures at 26.9% and cuts by sharp objects at 15.7%. Injuries to the xiv lower limbs were commonest at 45.1% followed by upper limb injuries at 28.1%. Fractures and dislocations dominated the type of injuries sustained at 62.3%. Conclusion: Injuries were predominantly witnessed among young male workers of age 19-40yrs working at informal construction sites with little or no safety training at all. Recommendations: There is need for improved safety training, supervision as well as proper use of PPEs in the construction industry; measures which would greatly reduce injuries at construction sites.