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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on July 29, 2009
Occupational Medicine 2009 59(7):493-498; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp101
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Occupational injury in the United Arab Emirates: epidemiology and prevention

Peter Barss1, Ken Addley2, Michal Grivna1, Cristina Stanculescu3 and Fikri Abu-Zidan4

1 Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
2 The Occupational Health Service, Northern Ireland Civil Service, Centre for Workplace Health Improvement, Belfast BT2 7SH, UK
3 Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1Y4, Canada
4 Department of Surgery, UAE University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Background The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is developing rapidly, with many foreign construction, farm and industrial workers.

Aims To assess the epidemiology of occupational injury hospitalizations using a trauma registry.

Methods Surgical admissions from March 2003 to April 2005 were recorded in the registry at the main trauma hospital in Al Ain city (population 348 000). Prevention-related variables were analysed using SPSS and severity was quantified by injury severity scores (ISS).

Results There were 614 occupational injury hospitalizations, an incidence of ~136/100 000 workers/year. Males accounted for 98% of injuries, the 25–44 age group for 69% and non-nationals for 96%. External causes included falls 51%, falling objects 15%, powered machines 11%, animal-related 7% and burns 6%. Median ISS was 4 for all six main external causes. Extremities were most frequently injured, followed by chest, head and neck, abdomen and face. Mean hospitalization duration was 9.4 days, with 36% hospitalized for >1 week.

Conclusions The main external causes were proportionately much more frequent than in industrialized countries. Effective countermeasures are needed to reduce the incidence and severity of occupational injury among vulnerable migrant workers in the UAE.

Keywords      Burns; camels; epidemiologic factors; falls; incidence; occupational; prevention and control; protective devices; safety; wounds and injuries

Correspondence to: Peter Barss, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 3 7137653; fax: +971 3 7672022; e-mail: peter.barss{at}gmail.com


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