Background: The indicators of severity commonly used for studying workplace injuries are somewhat limited. It is possible to use RIDIT Analysis (Relative to an Identified Distribution) as an alternative method
Objectives: To order occupations in Italy by severity of workplace injuries and discuss the methodological problems and the outcomes from available administrative data.
Methods: The database included injuries defined by INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Diseases) in Italy in the period 1995-99 in the industrial and artisan sectors (1,647,220 events). RIDIT Analysis was applied using Bross analysis of ordinal data. A distribution of injuries in Italy for the same period on a six-level scale of severity was used as a reference. The RIDIT value for each occupation was calculated and stratified by age, sex, and occupational sector.
Results: Among men, the occupations in which injuries were more severe than the average in Italy were construction, transport, woodworking, and mining. Above-average injury severity among women was found in transport drivers, postwomen, messengers, and workers in performing arts, the food industry, and tourism. A positive relationship between age and severity of injury was observed in all occupations in both sexes. Average severity was higher among artisans.
Conclusions: The method used allows ranking of occupations according to injury severity and should be systematically introduced into existing systems of surveillance so that data can be used to foster prevention and workplace safety.