Prevalence of Occupational Injury and Knowledge of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Accessibility among Healthcare Workers in Mogadishu, Somalia

Introduction: Healthcare workers in Mogadishu, Somalia face significant occupational injury risks, particularly needle stick injuries, with 61.1% reporting incidents. This poses a serious threat to their health, leading to infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Despite the high prevalence of injuries, awareness of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) accessibility is relatively high, with 84.0% of respondents aware of it. However, there are gaps in knowledge and implementation, as evidenced by variations in availability of PEP. Improving workplace safety measures, providing comprehensive training on injury prevention and PEP protocols, and ensuring consistent availability of PEP in healthcare facilities are crucial steps to safeguard the well-being of healthcare workers in Mogadishu, Somalia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among hospital workers in Mogadishu, Somalia, focusing on professionals from various healthcare facilities. The study targeted nurses, doctors, laboratory personnel, and pharmacists. Purposive sampling was employed, resulting in a sample size of 383 calculated using Fisher’s sample size formula. Data were collected using coded questionnaires entered into Microsoft Excel 2019 and analyzed with SPSS software to generate frequencies and proportions, presented through frequency tables and pie figures. Results: The study in Mogadishu, Somalia, examined the prevalence of occupational injuries and knowledge of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) accessibility among healthcare workers. Findings indicate a high prevalence of injuries, with 61.1% reporting incidents, predominantly needle stick injuries (60.6%). Despite the majority seeking prompt medical attention (72.0%), work-related illnesses affected 53.2% of respondents, notably work-related stress (59.5%). While most received training on injury and illness prevention (68.9%), gaps exist in PEP awareness, with 16.0% unaware of it. Nonetheless, 84.0% were aware, predominantly through health facilities (52.0%). Availability of PEP was reported by 71.3% in healthcare facilities, with variations in shift availability. The majority reported guidelines for PEP use (55.7%). Efforts are needed to bolster PEP awareness and ensure consistent availability in healthcare facilities to safeguard worker health. Conclusion: High prevalence of occupational injuries among healthcare workers, with needle stick injuries being the most common (60.6%). Despite this, 84.0% of respondents were aware of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), primarily learning about it from health facilities (52.0%). While 71.3% reported the availability of PEP in their facility, 28.7% noted its unavailability. These results emphasize the need for improved education and accessibility of PEP to mitigate occupational injury risks.

Work-Related Accidents on a Hospital Construction Site in Benin

Introduction: Work-related accidents are frequent and serious in the construction sector. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency and factors associated with occupational accidents on the construction site of a referral hospital in Benin. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample size was calculated using the Schwartz form adjusted for the number of workers on site and was 129 workers. Random sampling was used. The dependent variable was work-related accidents. The other variables were socio-demographic and occupational characteristics. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey. Medians and proportions were calculated. An association was sought using Chi-square and Fisher tests with a threshold of p Results: A total of 132 workers were included. Their median age was 30 years with an ITQ of [27 - 38];men were the most represented 126 (95.45%) with a level of education higher than or equal to high school in 101 (76.52%) and in the majority with a permanent status 85 (64.39%). Seniority of more than 5 years was observed in 92 (69.7%). Workers working more than 8 hours of overtime per week numbered 57 (43.18%). Exposure to vibrating objects was 49 (37.12%). In terms of psychosocial constraints, 82.58% had high psychological demands;79.53% low decision-making latitude;50.76% low social support. The frequency of work-related accidents was 6.82%, and the only associated factor was the type of worker (p = 0.016). On the other hand, there were 10.2% accidents among workers handling vibrating objects versus 4.98% among those not using them. With regard to psychosocial constraints, the following frequencies were recorded respectively: 6.42% among those with high psychological demand versus 8.7% among those with low psychological demand;7.62% among those with low decision-making latitude versus 3.7% among those with high decision-making latitude;8.96% among those with low social support versus 4.62% among those with high support. Conclusion: Work-related accidents on construction sites must be avoided by all possible means including the management of psychosocial constraints.

Rights Basis and System Building of Occupational Injury Protection for Employers in New Business Forms

Employees in new business forms face higher occupational injury risks and the plight of“falling in the gap in the protection network”of work-related injury insurance.The existing three types of occupational injury protection models are based on the reflection and reform of traditional occupational injury insurance.The readjustment path of occupational injury insurance is the most desirable among them.Occupational injury protection for employees in new forms of business is based on the concept of human rights protection,with the right to equality,social insurance and occupational safety and health as the direct basis.The top-level design of the system should be based on the appropriate“decoupling”of work-related injury insurance and labor relations,and rely on the technological empowerment of the digital age to explore the establishment of a work-related injury insurance system that is both mandatory and flexible.For the specific system building,in the dimension of mandate,the commercialization of benefits payment should be realized while expanding the statutory coverage of work-related injury insurance;while in the dimension of flexibility,it should be based on the characteristics of employees.Corresponding rules and regulations should be adjusted in terms of management model,work-related injury identification,and treatment calculation and payment.

Open globe injury in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia- a 10-year review

AIM:To identify the aetiology of open globe injuries at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia over a period of 10y and the prognostic factors for visual outcome.METHODS:Retrospective review of medical records of open globe injury cases that presented from January2000 to December 2009.Classification of open globe injury was based on the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology(BETT).Records were obtained with hospital permission via the in-house electronic patient management system,and the case notes of all patients with a diagnosis of open globe injury were scrutinised.Patients with prior ocular trauma,pre-existing ocular conditions affecting the visual acuity,contrast sensitivity,central vision or corneal thickness,as well as those with a history of previous intraocular or refractive surgery were excluded.Analysis of data was with SPSS version20.0.Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between prognostic factors and visual outcome.RESULTS:This study involved 220 patients(n=222eyes).The most common place of injury was the home(51.8%),followed by the workplace(23.4%).Among children aged less than 16y of age,domestic-related injury was the predominant cause(54.6%),while in those aged 16y and above,occupational injuries were the most common cause(40.0%).Most eyes(76.5%)had an initial visual acuity worse than 3/60,and in half of these,the visual acuity improved.The visual outcome was found to be significantly associated with the initial visual acuity(P【0.005),posterior extent of wound(P【0.001),length of wound(P【0.001),presence of hyphaema(P【0.001)and presence of vitreous prolapse(P【0.005).CONCLUSION:The most common causes of open globe injury are domestic accidents and occupational injuries.Significant prognostic factors for final visual outcome in patients with open globe injury are initial visual acuity,posterior extent and length of wound,presence of hyphaema and presence of vitreous prolapse.Awareness of the factors predicting a poor visual outcome may be helpful during counselling of patients with open globe injuries.

Prevalence and factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hand surgeons

BACKGROUND The nature of tasks required by hand surgeons require both forceful and repetitive maneuvers,thus subjecting these surgeons to the risk of musculoskeletal(MSK)injuries during their years in practice.AIM To assess the prevalence,characteristics and impact of MSK disorders among hand surgeons.METHODS A modified version of the physical discomfort survey was sent to surgeons who were members of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand via e-mail.The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,one-way analysis of variance,and Fisher’s exact test.P values of<0.05 were considered statistically significant.RESULTS Of the 578 respondents,60.4%reported that they had sustained a work-related MSK injury,of which the most common diagnoses were lateral elbow epicondylitis(18.7%),low back pain(17.1%)and carpal tunnel syndrome(15.6%).Among those that reported an injury,73.1%required treatment and 29.2%needed time off work as a direct result of their injury.The number of work-related injuries incurred by a surgeon increased significantly with increasing age(P<0.003),increasing years in practice(P<0.001)and higher case load(P<0.05).CONCLUSION To our knowledge this study is the first of its kind to assess MSK injuries sustained by Hand surgeons with a high incidence.These results should increase awareness on this aspect and fuel future studies directed at preventing these types of work-related injuries,thus minimizing the financial and psychological burden on these surgeons and the healthcare system.

Occupational hand injuries:a current review of the prevalence and proposed prevention strategies for physical therapists and similar healthcare professionals

Hand injury is the second most common work-related musculoskeletal injury among physical therapists （PTs） and other manual therapy professionals such as osteopaths, physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists. However, the nature and extent of this problem have not been fully explored yet. Therefore, the objective of this study was to review the existing literature published on the prevalence, risk factors, consequences, and prevention of hand injuries among PTs and similar healthcare professionals. The lifetime prevalence of hand injuries was about 15%-46%, and the annual prevalence was reported as 5%-30%. Thumb injuries were found to be the most prevalent of all injuries, accounting more than 50% of all hand-related problems. The most significant risk factors for job-related hand injuries were performing manual therapy techniques, repetitive workloads, treating many patients per day, continued work while injured or hurt, weakness of the thumb muscles, thumb hypermobility, and instability at the thumb joints. Frs reported modifying treatment technique, taking time off on sick leave, seeking intervention, shifting the specialty area, and decreasing patient contact hours as the major consequences of these injuries. The authors recommend that PTs should develop specific preventive strategies and put more emphasis on the use of aids and equipment to reduce the risk of an unnecessary injury.

Epidemiologic characteristics and outcomes of open globe injury in Shanghai

AIM： To investigate the epidemiologic characteristics and outcomes of open globe injury in Shanghai. METHODS： A retrospective study was conducted for 148 unilateral open globe injury cases presenting to a tertiary referral hospital of Shanghai. Electronic medical records were reviewed and phone surveys were conducted to collect and analyze 1） background of patient; 2） setting of injury and clinical signs at presentation; 3） treatment procedure and outcome; 4） quality of life after injury. RESULTS： There were more male patients （77.03%） than females （22.97%）, more temporary habitants （79.05%） than residents （20.95%）. The subjects in this study presented a significantly lower constitutional status of education than that of the whole Shanghai population （P〈0.001）. Occupational injury was the first cause of injuries （39.86%）, followed by home accident （20.27%）, road accident （16.80%）, violent behavior （16.89%） and outdoor injury （6,08%）. The 143 subjects （96.62%） were not wearing spectacles at the time of injury. Of all patients, 77 subjects （52.03%） had the outcome of no vision （including enucleation）. The classification and regression tree （CART） prognosis presents 59.58% sensitivity to predict visual survival correctly and 80.19% specificity to predict no vision correctly. The patients whose injured eye had no vision reported more reduction of life quality. CONCLUSION： We found that male subject, temporary habitants, low educational status and no eyewear are risk factors of open globe injury in Shanghai. Occupational injury is the leading cause. CART analysis presents a certain agreement to the actual visual outcome. The injury imposes negative impact on quality of life especially in no vision cases. The education of eye protection may help to avoid the injury.

Predictors of work injury in underground mines—an application of a logistic regression model

Mine accidents and injuries are complex and generally characterized by several factors starting from personal to technical, and technical to social characteristics.In this study, an attempt has been made to identify the various factors responsible for work related injuries in mines and to estimate the risk of work injury to mine workers.The prediction of work injury in mines was done by a step-by-step multivariate logistic regression modeling with an application to case study mines in India.In total, 18 variables were considered in this study.Most of the variables are not directly quantifiable.Instruments were developed to quantify them through a questionnaire type survey.Underground mine workers were randomly selected for the survey.Responses from 300 participants were used for the analysis.Four variables, age, negative affectivity, job dissatisfaction, and physical hazards, bear significant discriminating power for risk of injury to the workers, comparing between cases and controls in a multivariate situation while controlling all the personal and socio-technical variables.The analysis reveals that negatively affected workers are 2.54 times more prone to injuries than the less negatively affected workers and this factor is a more important risk factor for the case-study mines.Long term planning through identification of the negative individuals, proper counseling regarding the adverse effects of negative behaviors and special training is urgently required.Care should be taken for the aged and experienced workers in terms of their job responsibility and training requirements.Management should provide a friendly atmosphere during work to increase the confidence of the injury prone miners.

Assessment of the relationship between the return to work and the severity of work-related upper limb injuries using the whole person impairment

Purpose:Upper limb disorders are one of the most common and important types of occupational injuries.Besides,identifying the factors influencing return to work following these injuries is essential to reduce the dimensions of the problem.In this study,we investigated the return to work and associated factors following occupational injuries leading to upper limb impairment.Methods:In this retrospective cohort study,the rate of return to work and associated factors were assessed in 256 workers with work-related upper limb injury referred to a teaching hospital from March 2011 to December 2018.The inclusion criterion was a history of occupational injury resulting in upper limb impairment,and exclusion criteria included the presence of simultaneous impairment in other organs,congenital or non-occupational limb defects as well as patients with incomplete information in their medical records.Individuals’’ records,including age at the time of injury,gender,date of injury,marital status,education,level of amputation and injury,whole person impairment (WPI) and physiotherapy (prescribed by the physician) were reviewed.The WPI was calculated to assess the extent of the injury.All analyzes were performed by SPSS version 25.0.Result:The rate of return to work was 54.3%,in which 51.8% for the same job and 48.2% for a new job.The main factors associated with non-return to work were more days off work (p = 0.001),higher injury severity (p = 0.001),and dominant hand injury (p = 0.034).Conclusion:The number of days off work,the WPI,and dominant hand injury are the most important determinant in returning to work.In addition,increased job satisfaction and support from co-workers and employers are work-related factors that can lead to an increased return to work.