Prevalence and risk factors for non-collision injuries among bus commuters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Migration of people from rural to urban areas has led to the increase in demand for transportation services in the cities. However, authorities have failed to cope with this problem in a consistently manner. This has led to the increase in non-collision injuries among commuters. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and risk factors for non-collision injuries among commuters using public transport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in Dar es Salaam involving 290 commuters from 7 bus routes travelling to and from the city centre using public transport which are privately owned and commonly known as "daladala". Stratified random sampling was used to sample buses based on the passenger carrying capacity (i.e. 15-24, 25-34 and 35-45 passengers). Systematic random sampling was used to get a total of three commuters from each bus for the interview. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of non-collision injuries was 71%, while these rates were 70 and 39% in the last 12 and 6 months, respectively. Commuters aged between 18 and 28 years experienced non-collision injuries the most (56%) in the last 12 months. Most non-collision injuries occurred on weekdays in the evening from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Strong association was observed between the occurrence of non-collision injuries and commuting time between 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm (adjusted OR = 9.24; 95% CI: 2.68-19.54); boarding and disembarking (adjusted OR = 9.21; 95% CI: 3.77-25.11) and scrambling during boarding (adjusted OR = 5.03; 95% CI: 2.51-21.32). The lower limbs (adjusted OR = 8.64; 95% CI: 2.72-21.76) and the upper limbs (adjusted OR = 13.55; 95% CI: 5.32-33.21) were the most affected body parts. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated high prevalence of non-collision injuries among commuters using public transport in Dar es Salaam. Travelling in the evening between 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm on the weekdays, boarding and disembarking especially when scrambling for the bus during boarding, overcrowding in the bus especially when the bus is already full with no seats available are the major risk factors for non-collision injuries.

Work-Related Injuries Reported toWorkers Compensation Fund in Tanzania from 2016 to 2019.

Quality data on the magnitude and determinants of work-related injuries is an important element in the development of appropriate preventative strategies. However, there have been many challenges in obtaining quality information on work-related injuries in the developing countries. This archival study based on the data from workers' compensation registry from the year 2016 to 2019 aimed at determining trends and factors associated with work-related injuries (WRI). Data from 4578 WRI claims reported to Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) in Tanzania were analyzed. As expected, this new workers' compensation system had increasing participation from inception in 2016 through 2019, resulting in increasing numbers of fatal and non-fatal work-related claims. Motor traffic accidents, machine faults and falls were the most reported causes of WRI. Males had more than 2-fold increased odds of sustaining fatal injuries compared to females. More than 6-fold increased odds of fatal injuries were observed for injuries occurring during conveyance. Explosions, motor traffic accidents, and falls were more likely to result into fatal injuries. Increased odds of fatal injuries were observed in workers from transportation and storage sector; information and technology; construction and building; and electricity, gas, and steam sectors, as well as among teachers, drivers, office workers, and security guards. The current study offers some insights regarding trends and associated factors that are vital in planning and implementation of appropriate preventative strategies for work-related injuries in Tanzania.

Status of Occupational Health and Safety and Related Challenges in Expanding Economy of Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION: Occupational health and safety is related with economic activities undertaken in the country. As the economic activities grow and expand, occupational injuries and diseases are more likely to increase among workers in different sectors of economy such as agriculture, mining, transport, and manufacture. This may result in high occupational health and safety services demand, which might be difficult to meet by developing countries that are prioritizing economic expansion without regard to their impact on occupational health and safety. OBJECTIVE: To describe the status of occupational health and safety in Tanzania and outline the challenges in provision of occupational health services under the state of an expanding economy. FINDINGS: Tanzania's economy is growing steadily, with growth being driven by communications, transport, financial intermediation, construction, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing. Along with this growth, hazards emanating from work in all sectors of the economy have increased and varied. The workers exposed to these hazards suffer from illness and injuries and yet they are not provided with adequate occupational health services. Services are scanty and limited to a few enterprises that can afford it. Existing laws and regulations are not comprehensive enough to cover the entire population. Implementation of legislation is weak and does not protect the workers. CONCLUSIONS: Most Tanzanians are not covered by the occupational health and safety law and do not access occupational health services. Thus an occupational health and safety services strategy, backed by legislations and provided with the necessary resources (competent experts, financial and technological resources), is a necessity in Tanzania. The existing legal provisions require major modifications to meet international requirements and standards. OHS regulations and legislations need refocusing, revision, and strengthening to cover all working population. Capacities should be improved through training and research to enable enforcement. Finally the facilities and resources should be made available for OHS services to match with the growing economy.

Persistent organochlorinated pesticides and mechanisms of their toxicity.

Persistent organic pollutants comprised of organic chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls, dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and organochlorinated pesticides which have many characteristics in common. Once released in the environment they resist physical, biological, chemical and photochemical breakdown processes and thus persist in the environment. They are subject to long transboundary air pollution transport. They accumulate in the food chain due to their lipophilicity, bioaccumulation and biomagnification properties. Human exposure occurs through inhalation of air, ingestion of food and skin contact. Because most of them bioaccumulate and remain preferentially in fat, their long-term effects are still a matter of public health concern. They are condemned for health adverse effects such as cancer, reproductive defects, neurobehavioral abnormalities, endocrine and immunological toxicity. These effects can be elicited via a number of mechanisms among others include disruption of endocrine system, oxidation stress and epigenetic. However most of the mechanisms are not clear thus a number of studies are ongoing trying to elucidate them. In this review, the underlying possible mechanisms of action and their possible roles in adverse developmental and reproductive processes are discussed and where possible a linkage is made to some existing epidemiological data. Both genomic and nongenomic pathways are used to describe these effects. Understanding of these mechanisms will enable development of strategies to protect the public by reducing these adverse effects. This review is limited to persistent organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (ß-HCH) and endosulfan.