TY - JOUR
T1 - The italian national surveillance system for occupational injuries
T2 - Conceptual framework and fatal outcomes, 2002–2016
AU - Campo, Giuseppe
AU - Cegolon, Luca
AU - De Merich, Diego
AU - Fedeli, Ugo
AU - Pellicci, Mauro
AU - Heymann, William C.
AU - Pavanello, Sofia
AU - Guglielmi, Armando
AU - Mastrangelo, Giuseppe
N1 - Funding Information:
According to INAIL reports, non-fatal occupational events diminished during the 1990s while this was not the case for fatal injuries, thus suggesting both a reporting bias—a systematic error of underreporting of minor compared to major injuries [5]—as well as the need of further information on causality of work-related fatalities for preventive purposes. Therefore, in 2000, in cooperation with the 20 Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces, ISPESL launched a nation-wide research project to monitor fatal and serious workplace incidents. In the same year, INAIL launched a similar project in cooperation with the Social Partners. The latter are joint committees of worker and company management representatives mainly of small and medium size industries. On 25 July 2002 INAIL, ISPESL and the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Italy signed a consensus agreement aimed at integrating the two above projects into a single Integrated Health Information System for Health Protection at Work, articulated across all 20 Italian Regions. The project was approved and funded by the Italian MoH (MoH Research, Art. 12 e 12 bis D.Lgs. 502/92).
Funding Information:
Each type of operator received different training, following identification of their formative needs, teaching methods, teaching staff, learning assessment tools and evaluation system. For SPISAL officers, the training was included in the annual credits for mandatory continuous medical education. For small-and medium-sized industries, the model was supported by trade unions.
Funding Information:
Through annual calls for application, the ISI model aims to support companies in carrying out projects to improve HSW standards, funding companies up to a maximum of 65% of costs. The following projects may be eligible for funding:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/10/2
Y1 - 2020/10/2
N2 - Background: A national database of work-related injuries has been established in Italy since 2002, collecting information on the injured person, his/her work tasks, the workplace and the risk factors contributing to incident dynamics, according to a model called Infor.Mo. Methods: A descriptive study of occupational fatal injuries, excluding work-related fatal traffic injuries, that occurred in Italy from 2002 to 2016 (15 years) was performed. Results: Among 4874 victims involved, all were males, mainly >51 years of age (43.2%), predominantly self-employed (27.8%) or workers with non-standard contracts (25%). About 18.4% and 17.3% of fatal events occurred in micro-enterprises belonging to, respectively, construction and agriculture. A wide range of nationalities (59 countries in addition to Italy) was identified. Overall, 18.9% of work-related fatal injuries were due to some form of hazardous energy—mechanical, thermal, electrical or chemical—that was normally present in the workplace. Workers’ falls from height (33.5%), heavy loads falling on workers from height (16.7%) and vehicles exiting their route and overturning (15.9%) were the events causing the greatest proportion of occupational fatal injuries in the present study (from 2002 to 2016) and in the initial pilot phase, focused on years 2002–2004, with a similar distribution of fatal events between the two time periods. The activity of the injured person made up 43.3% of 9386 risk factors identified in 4874 fatalities. Less common risk factors were related to work equipment (20.2%), work environment (14.9%), third–party activity (9.8%), personal protective equipment/clothing (8.0%) and materials (3.7%). The activity of the injured person remained the most relevant contributing factor even when the incident was caused by two or more risk factors. Discussion: Occupational fatal injuries occurred mainly in small size firms (up to nine employees) in hazardous workplaces. Small companies, which account for 68% (2888/4249) of all firms in the present study, generally have fewer resources to remain current with the continuously evolving health and safety at work regulations; moreover, these firms tend to be less compliant with health and safety at work regulations since they are less likely to be inspected by occupational vigilance services. Perspectives: An approach being introduced in Italy relies on the use of economic incentives to promote safe and healthy workplaces. The comparison of pre-intervention and post-intervention rates of work-related injuries by means of interrupted time series analyses could detect whether the intervention will have an effect significantly greater than the underlying secular trend.
AB - Background: A national database of work-related injuries has been established in Italy since 2002, collecting information on the injured person, his/her work tasks, the workplace and the risk factors contributing to incident dynamics, according to a model called Infor.Mo. Methods: A descriptive study of occupational fatal injuries, excluding work-related fatal traffic injuries, that occurred in Italy from 2002 to 2016 (15 years) was performed. Results: Among 4874 victims involved, all were males, mainly >51 years of age (43.2%), predominantly self-employed (27.8%) or workers with non-standard contracts (25%). About 18.4% and 17.3% of fatal events occurred in micro-enterprises belonging to, respectively, construction and agriculture. A wide range of nationalities (59 countries in addition to Italy) was identified. Overall, 18.9% of work-related fatal injuries were due to some form of hazardous energy—mechanical, thermal, electrical or chemical—that was normally present in the workplace. Workers’ falls from height (33.5%), heavy loads falling on workers from height (16.7%) and vehicles exiting their route and overturning (15.9%) were the events causing the greatest proportion of occupational fatal injuries in the present study (from 2002 to 2016) and in the initial pilot phase, focused on years 2002–2004, with a similar distribution of fatal events between the two time periods. The activity of the injured person made up 43.3% of 9386 risk factors identified in 4874 fatalities. Less common risk factors were related to work equipment (20.2%), work environment (14.9%), third–party activity (9.8%), personal protective equipment/clothing (8.0%) and materials (3.7%). The activity of the injured person remained the most relevant contributing factor even when the incident was caused by two or more risk factors. Discussion: Occupational fatal injuries occurred mainly in small size firms (up to nine employees) in hazardous workplaces. Small companies, which account for 68% (2888/4249) of all firms in the present study, generally have fewer resources to remain current with the continuously evolving health and safety at work regulations; moreover, these firms tend to be less compliant with health and safety at work regulations since they are less likely to be inspected by occupational vigilance services. Perspectives: An approach being introduced in Italy relies on the use of economic incentives to promote safe and healthy workplaces. The comparison of pre-intervention and post-intervention rates of work-related injuries by means of interrupted time series analyses could detect whether the intervention will have an effect significantly greater than the underlying secular trend.
KW - Agriculture
KW - Construction
KW - Economic incentives
KW - Fatal events
KW - Health and safety at work
KW - Occupational incidents
KW - Occupational regulations
KW - Surveillance
KW - Vigilance
KW - Work related injuries
KW - Workplace
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17207631
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17207631
M3 - Article
C2 - 33092014
AN - SCOPUS:85093654282
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 21
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 20
M1 - 7631
ER -