Risk Analysis of Coal Miners Injuries : AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Occupational injuries in mines represent a major problem of public health with serious social and economical consequences. The 20th century has experienced a considerable amount of success in coal mines safety across the globe. To further improve the safety standards in coal mines, application of risk analysis tools is necessary to identify and quantify potential hazards and to suggest effective solutions. Moreover, research on behavioral factors represents a promising approach to the improvement of workers' safety. The public health approach based on the scientific methods of injury epidemiology has been explored as a risk analysis tool in this study. In this research work, an epidemiological investigation based on a matched case-control study design was conducted to examine the role of occupational factors including job hazards-related factors and individual factors including behavioral factors,lifestyle factors and health-related factors to the occurrences of injuries in underground coal mines. This work will be useful to occupational health and safety professionals, researchers, and students to apply the concept of injury epidemiology in field investigations.