Abstract
Objective:
to assess the COVID-19 pandemic impact on Occupational Accident (OA) notifications in Brazil by economic activity and occupation.
Methods:
an ecological study was conducted using OA cases recorded in the Statistical Yearbook of Social Security from 2015 to 2020. Accidents were analyzed by sector of economic activity, occupation, and ICD-10 codes. Pre-pandemic cases were compared with the first year of the public health emergency scenario caused by Sars-Cov-2 using an adapted p-score.
Results:
p-scores ranged from -60.2% for technical-epidemiological Occupational Accidents to -13.9% for typical OA. Occupational diseases had a p-score of 151.1%. Cases of occupational diseases from ICD-10 chapters I and X showed a significant increase. OA notifications decreased in all CNAE sections, except for human health and social services activities (p-score = 8.0%). P-score values were negative in most CBO categories, except in subgroups such as security forces and high-level health professionals, technicians, and managers.
Conclusion:
Brazil registered a general reduction in OA notifications due to the pandemic, which evinced inequalities in different sectors and occupations, as well as changes in the illness profile of workers.
Keywords:
occupational injuries; occupational accidents registry; pandemics; surveillance of the workers’ health; coronavirus; occupational health