Magnitude and Characteristics of Occupational injury in Kombolcha textile factory, North East Ethiopia

Background: Working environment is one of the factors which can determine public health conditions as many workers spend a large portion of their time at work. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and characteristics of occupational injury among workers in Kombolcha textile factory, North East Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study design was conducted from April1-15, 2013 among 455 randomly selected workers after stratification by working departments. A structured questionnaire based interview, review of records of injury report and walk through survey using work environment observation checklist were used to support the self-reported information. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis using SPSS version 20. Results: The overall occupational injury prevalence rate was 36.9%. Puncture, abrasion/laceration, fracture, cut and back pain were the most common types of injury. Most of the sources of injury were due to machinery, lifting heavy objects, splinters, fall and hand tools. Conclusion: The magnitude of occupational injury at Kombolcha textile industry showed a high prevalence that indicates the need to work on integrated injury prevention by mainstreaming occupational health and safety procedures in all working departments of the factory. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v3i2.8381