Citation

Ben Khelil M, Harzallah H, Elmoulehy-Majed H, Belghith M, Hamdoun M. Tunis. Med. 2019; 97(7): 918-924.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Societe Tunisienne Des Sciences Medicales)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

31872404

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Workplace accidents represented a Global public health problem with about two millions persons dying from accidents at work or occupational diseases. In Tunisia, data on fatal traumatic workplace accidents remain scarce. Work-related accidents accounted for 0.4% of the employed population in 2014, with a prevalence of fatal accidents between 4 and 25 per 100,000 workers depending on the region and the field.

AIM: To describe the victim's profile of workplace traumatic accidents in Northern Tunisia.

METHODS: It was a retrospective cross-sectional study, including all cases of accidental workplace traumatic accidents autopsied at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis over a period of 12 years (2003- 2014).

RESULTS: We collected 741 cases, including 724 men. The median age was 38.5 years. Construction sector represented 70% and the industrial sector represented 12.6% of cases. Victims were workers in 91.4%. Falls from height was the most frequent accident type (43.5%), followed by objects falling (26.5%) and electrocutions (18.5%). Death occurred at the place of accidents in 58% cases.

CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted the need to reinforce and to adapt the prevention measures toward workers in the construction sector, in order to reduce the mortality from traumatic workplace accidents.

Language: en