Epidemiology of accidents at work in a hospital unit of the region of Oporto

Work accidents constitute a public health problem. The hospital environment is complex and represents a large number of occupational hazards for both workers providing direct care and for support services. To describe an epidemiological profile of work accidents in a hospital in the region of Porto in 2010. Identify the main consequences of accidents. A retrospective cross-sectional epidemiological study, covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2010. The information was obtained using the registration of accidents at work, related to 130 employees. Data collection was performed by one of the investigators, after authorization of the Board and took place during the month of April 2011, weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00 hours in the Occupational Health. Data were coded and entered into SPSS ® database with the ID number to ensure and respect the anonymity of the participants There were 130 reported accidents at work in a hospital with 2300 employees, corresponding to an incidence rate of 5.65% and (12.3%) of accidents while traveling. The highest number of accidents was found in females (86.2%), professional categories Auxiliary Medical Action (AAM) (46%) and nurses (42.3%). The most vulnerable age group was between 30-34 years (28.5%), with over 10 years of service (48.5%), with undergraduate (46.2%) in the legal system of appointment (93, 8%) and practice time per shift (74.6%). The services with the highest prevalence were: medicine (14.6%), the operating room (12.3%) and urgency (11.5%). The accidents occurred on average for 12.4 hours (± 4.4 s), with increasing prevalence in the month of June (19.2%). The leading causes were falls (33.1%), overexertion or inadequate movements (19.2%) and with the same percentage of the needle sticks. About 31% of accidents were caused by tools / instruments / tools. There were 29.2% and 24.6% of wounds contusions / crushing execution with sprains / strains. The body parts most affected were the hands (35, 4%) followed by the trunk (16.9%). Resulted in an absolute inability 31.2% and lost on average 8.9 days of work, ranging between the minimum and a maximum of 179, totaling 1155 days. Inability of the events that caused 30% are due to accidents while traveling, 12.5% occurred on stairs and in the percentage equal to BO. About 58% had relapsed in AAM, 62.5% in people with schooling less than 12 years and 25% in the age group of 35-39 years. The musculoskeletal injuries accounted for 70.5% of absenteeism. The profile of occupational accidents may be related to the activity performed, education, and injury. This knowledge constitutes a scientific basis for implementing preventive measures