Bushra Iftikhar, Saatea Arif.
The frequency of occupational injuries and injury-related life style indicators in industrial workers of Peshawar.
J Med Sci Jan ;17(1):35-9.

Objectives: Workers involved in small-scale manufacturing businesses are known to comprise a high-risk population for occupational injury. The aim of this project was to find out the frequency of injuries and related life style indicators of workers in industrial estate of Peshawar, Pakistan. Material and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire that solicited answers about occupational information including injury, demographic characteristics, health conditions and lifestyle factors was collected from a sample of 272 workers aged 16-62 yr in Peshawar, Pakistan. The subjects were selected from the industries according to the number of workers in the industry. More subjects were selected from a bigger industry and lesser number selected from a smaller industry according to the number of workers. Results: The over all frequency of study-defined occupational injury among the workers was 42.3% and maximum injuries were found in the industry of paper (68%), match (44%), metal (85%), tyre (57.14%), plastic (43.75%), printing (43.75%), and furniture (50%). Injuries were found to be higher in age group 18-25 years (54%) and above 50 years (42%). With respect to education, the highest number of injuries were found in illiterate (48%) and primary level educated 61%, while lesser with high school level (29%) and above school level (22.5%). 40.5% of the married and 56.7% of the unmarried workers had suffered from an injury at work. 64% of those with insomnia and 45% of those without insomnia had an injury. Among those with pre-existing disease, 55% had while among those without the disease 38.6% had suffered from an injury. 33% of those using the protective devices and 45% of those not using the protective devices had an injury. Amongst smokers 54.2% and among non- smokers 23.67% had an injury. As regards to on the job training 204 workers had not received any formal or proper training and among them 127 (62.25%) had suffered from an injury while 27 (39.70%) out of the 68 who had received some training, had an injury. Conclusion: Occupational injury is common in manufacturing businesses, and is associated with multiple modifiable factors.

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