Gender and age distribution of occupational fatalities in Taiwan

Abstract

This study analyzed fatal occupational injuries in Taiwan. One thousand eight hundred ninety work-related accident reports filed in the years 1996–1999 were extracted from the annual publication of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). These data were analyzed in terms of gender, age and work experience of the accident victim as well as accident type and the work-related source of injury to identify significant contributing factors. The CLA data showed that work-related falls were the leading cause of work-related fatalities in both male and female workers (38.2% of male victims and 39.2% of female victims). Gender differences were also noted in the accident type and age of the injured workers. Male workers had a significantly higher prevalence of fatal occupational injuries than female workers throughout the analyzed period (7.4 compared to 0.9 per 100,000 full-time workers). Young males aged 24 years or less had the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries. The finding that gender and age are major factors in occupational injuries is a significant finding in the field of occupational safety and may be helpful for developing accident prevention programs.

Introduction

In most industrialized countries, the percentage of females in the work force has steadily increased in recent decades as women begin to enter traditionally male-dominated occupations due to organizational changes in worksite settings and for economic reasons (Cox and Cox, 1984, Blue, 1993, Zwerling et al., 1993, Kelsh and Sahl, 1996). Women are suspected of being less capable of performing some tasks; for instance, in the construction industry, women are assumed to be unsuitable and more likely to sustain injuries in jobs requiring exposure to vibration or heavy lifting and machinery operation. The risk of workplace accidents differs between males and females as women often face the competing demands of full-time employment in addition to the primary responsibility for bearing and raising children (Wohl et al., 1995). The increasing participation of women in the labor force, especially in jobs previously dominated by men, may expose women to increased risk of occupational injuries and deaths. This trend has been studied extensively in recent years (Cox and Cox, 1984, Blue, 1993, Zwerling et al., 1993, Kelsh and Sahl, 1996). Several studies have indicated that the rate of occupational deaths and injuries in males is typically much higher than that in females (Chi and Wu, 1997, Lindqvist et al., 1999). Conversely, Root and Daley (1980) reported that male and female workers have approximately equal occupational accident rates. They found that the work-related accident rate in women employed in traditionally male-dominated jobs is about the same as that of their male counterparts. They concluded that the work activity rather than the worker is a more important determinant of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries. Conversely, some studies have documented a higher risk of occupational accidents or injuries in female workers (McCurdy et al., 1989, Zwerling et al., 1993, Kelsh and Sahl, 1996). These contradictory results reveal that gender differences in work-related deaths and injuries are still unclear.

Despite the growing concern about occupational injuries in women, epidemiologic data for work-related deaths and injuries in female workers is limited in Taiwan and elsewhere. Thus, most studies in this area deal with men, with no attention to the potential impacts of occupational accidents for the female workers, and reliable comparisons of the sex differences in occupational fatal injuries are less numerous still (Cox and Cox, 1984). Chi and Wu (1997) analyzed 1230 work-related fatal injuries in Taiwan to identify the significant factors contributing to such fatal injuries. They found that gender was not a significant factor in fatal occupational injuries of all accident types. However, the authors cautioned that, without showing the normality of model errors, the validity of applying the analysis of variance to quantify the significance of each contributing factor was questionable. On the other hand, aging workers tend to delay retirement for health and economic reasons (Chi and Wu, 1997). Some studies have reported that older workers are more prone to accidents because of their declining mental and physical capacities (Yokomizo, 1985, Rabbit, 1991). Other studies have suggested that younger workers have a higher rate of occupational accidents than other age groups (Nicholson, 1985). Goldberg et al. (1989) reviewed data for fatal occupational injuries sustained by 2483 male workers in California during 1972–1983. Age-specific death rates were found to exhibit a bimodal pattern in most industries with the highest rates observed in the oldest and youngest age groups. Sorock et al. (1993) examined risk factors for fatal occupational injuries among male workers in the New Jersey construction industry during the years 1983–1989. Fatal occupational injuries tended to diminish from age 34 until age 65. Jeong (1998) presented data for occupational accidents in the South Korean construction industry during 1991–1994. They observed that the death rate in construction was 23.5 per 100,000 person-years and that deaths occur more frequently in older workers. In order to confirm age-related accident risks, it is important to understand occupational risks of age differences in accident frequency, patterns or characteristics.

Accident analysis is used to identify common factors contributing to occupational accidents and to develop accident prevention programs and decisions. Such analyses have been done on a national or statewide level (Goldberg et al., 1989, Sorock et al., 1993, Kisner and Fosbroke, 1994, Buckley et al., 1996, Cattledge et al., 1996, Gillen et al., 1997, Jeong, 1998, Kartam and Bouz, 1998, Kines, 2002, Chi et al., 2005). Taiwan is a newly industrializing country that has undergone a dramatic industrial transformation over the past few decades from an agriculture-based economy in the early 1960s to an industry-based economy in the 1970s. Since the late 1980s, most growth has been in services industries. Currently, Taiwan has a population of about 22.52 million people and a labor force of 10.13 millions (about 46.7% female) (ROC-DGOB, 2004). As occupational injuries are a widespread problem in most industrialized countries, particularly in countries undergoing rapid industrialization, Taiwan is also encountering challenges such as considerably increased rates of occupational injuries and deaths. This study presented nationwide statistical data relevant to fatal occupational injuries and compared the gender aspects of fatal occupational injuries in a defined community. The specific objective of the present study was to provide an epidemiological basis for gender-specific work-related accident prevention programs.