Statistics on trends of occupational injury and related injuries in the Philippines

ABSTRACT

Introduction@#Deaths due to occupation are estimated to be around 2.3 million globally. These deaths may be accounted for as accidents and injuries related to workplaces. The latter is a common problem, especially in developing countries where manual and hazardous tasks are prevalent. @*Objective@#The study aimed to provide an updated and detailed information on the current statistics and trends of occupational injuries in the Philippines. @*Methods@#The data on occupational injuries and related injuries from 2011 to 2017 (latest data) were based on a systematic and comprehensive review of literature from different national and international sources, including scholarly journals, peer-reviewed articles, national surveys by Philippine Statistics Authority, the hospital-based recording data Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (ONEISS) by the Department of Health and other reliable electronic data related to occupational injury. The latest statistics are 2017, although data were published in 2018 and 2019. @*Results@#This study obtained from the national statistics showed that there is generally a decreasing trend of occupation injuries from 2011 (46,655 cases) to 2017 (38,235 cases). However, the occupational injuries generally increased from 2011 (48,975 cases) to 2015 (20,961 cases). The most affected sector was the manufacturing industry consistently from 2011 to 2017. With regards to workdays lost, the most common cause from 2011 to 2017 is temporary incapacity. Superficial injuries and open wounds were the most common, resulting in workdays lost consistently from 2013 to 2017. For the hospital data, the top causes of occupational injuries were vehicular accidents. Open wound/lacerations, abrasions, and contusion were the most common types of injuries for the same year range. Moreover, the 20-59 years old, the working-age population, were the common victims of these injuries. Occupational injuries were also prevalent across all industry groups, including informal occupations such as workers engaged in transportation, construction, mining, and agriculture and fisheries industries. @*Conclusion@#Occupational injuries and accidents are global problems, most especially for developing countries. This study suggests that better focus should be given to workers as they are productive members of society.