oa Selfreported contributory factors for workrelated injuries in Qatar: Findings from the WURQ inpatient survey

Introduction Work related injuries (WRIs) are a leading cause of trauma admission in Qatar and their epidemiologic trends and high-risk populations have been reported previously. This study aims to explore the work circumstances and environments leading to severe WRIs, to inform the creation of targeted interventions to improve worker safety in Qatar. It was conducted as part of a larger ‘A Unified Registry for Workplace Injury Prevention in Qatar’ grant [NPRP 7-1120-3-288] funded by the Qatar Foundation and designed to initiate and implement a targeted unified workplace injury registry to inform policies and programs to reduce the health burden, in terms of deaths and disabilities, and the healthcare costs from WRI's in Qatar Methods Patients with WRIs who were admitted to the Hamad Trauma Center for at least 24 hours were interviewed by trained interviewers using a standard questionnaire. Interview responses were encoded and audio recorded. A proportionate sampling method was implemented based on the leading mechanisms of injuries, from previous reports on WRIs in Qatar. Results Fifty (50) patients were consented and interviewed. 58% (29) of them had some kind of safety training and 82% (41) were aware about the risks at work. Seventy eight percent (39) had taken one form of safety precaution: 58% wore a safety helmet, 62% had foot protection, 54% had a high visibility jacket/vest on and 50% used antistatic gloves. Approximately 50% of the patients had one form of health insurance. Almost everyone was given proper treatment on the site prior to being transported to the nearest treatment facility. Self-reported contributory factors, for WRI, included: ‘inadequate training for a new task’, ‘sub-optimal working environment’ and ‘psychological factors’.‘‘ Almost all classified their injuries as ‘accidental’ or unexpected. Conclusion In this study population, WRIs are still thought of as ‘accidental’ by the workers themselves. Areas for improvement include: 1.) safety training and awareness 2.) consistent use and availability of personal protective equipment 3.) health insurance and 4.) training for new tasks. Further studies on knowledge and attitudes of workers towards safety are needed to better inform occupational injury prevention programs in Qatar.