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Volume 2022, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 0253-8253
  • EISSN: 2227-0426

Abstract

Background: The Ministry of Public Health National Health Strategy 2018–2022 has recognized the need for accurate, updated, and representative data that truly reflects the occupational health and safety status in Qatar. In 2015, the Hamad Trauma Center received a research grant to create a unified registry for work-related injuries in Qatar [WURQ], whose processes and research findings have been reported earlier. This paper shall describe the findings from the initial 1-year collection of data on work-related injuries [WRIs] and deaths in Qatar for the year 2020 through the WURQ database.

Methods: The WURQ database was queried for all WRIs from January 1 to December 31, 2020. These data were classified by date of injury, age, sex, nationality, mechanism of injury, severity of injury, location of medical consultation, and clinical outcome.

Results: Out of a total worker population of 2,174,828 [2.29 occupational fatalities per 100,000 workers, there were 50 deaths caused by WRIs]. The majority of WRI deaths were in the prehospital setting [60%] with the majority of fatal injuries occurring at the worksite [64%] and 22% due to falls. Five hundred six workers sustained severe WRIs [23.26 severe occupational injuries per 100,000 workers], and 37,601 workers sustained mild to moderate WRIs [1,728.91 mild to moderate occupational injuries per 100,000 workers]. The severe WRIs were most commonly due to falls [226 out of 506] from height [45%] and falling heavy objects [80 out of 506] [16%]. Road traffic injuries [RTI] make up one-fourth [133 out of 506] of all severe WRIs.

Conclusion: WURQ has described WRIs in Qatar using a purpose-built and nationally linked occupational injury registry. Occupational injury and injury fatality statistics, for Qatar in 2020, are lower than or comparable with those from other high-income countries. This data can be used to inform worksite inspections, investigations, worker safety education, environmental improvements, and injury prevention programs to make Qatar safer for all its workers.

© 2022 Consunji, El-Menyar, Hirani, Abeid, Al-Thani, Hardan, Chauhan, Kasem, Peralta, licensee HBKU Press.
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2022-12-05
2024-04-25
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Work-related injuries in Qatar for 1 year: an initial report from the work-related injury unified registry for Qatar
Qatar Medical Journal 2022, 58 (2022); https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2022.58
/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.58
/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.58
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): registry, work-related injuries and worker safety

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