Occupational Injury and Its Correlated Factors among Small-Scale Industry Workers in Towns of Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: In developing countries, the laborer forces have managed many of the industrial works. As a result, the process of the work has put the health and lives of workers at risk. Thus, this study was designed to assess occupational injury and its correlated factors among small-scale industry workers in the towns of Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed among five hundred ninety small-scale industries in towns of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia, in March to April 2016. Multistage sampling was applied to recruit the study subjects. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. A structured questionnaire addressing the objectives of the study was used. EpiData was used for data entry, and the data were exported to SPSS windows version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics like frequency and percentage were used for the prevalence, whereas binary and multiple logistic regressions were employed to identify the predictors of the outcome variable. RESULTS: A total of 574 workers from different small-scale industries, including woodwork, metalwork, and concrete block construction, participated in the study with a response rate of 97.3%. In this study, among the total participants of the study, 43.2% (248), 30% (172), and 21.6% (124) of them had encountered lifetime, last one year, and six months occupational injury, respectively. Taking health and safety training, presence of any things on the floor that can cause accidents and occupational risk perception were independent predictors of occupational injury. The presence of any things on the floor that can cause accidents and having a low-risk perception increases occupational injury by 12.69 [AOR: 12.69, (1.67–96.13)] and 2.84 [AOR: 2.84, (1.80–4.49)], respectively. CONCLUSION: About one in three occupational injuries occurred among small-scale industry workers. Health and safety training should be provided for every worker in small-scale industries. Supportive supervision focusing awareness creation, economic stability, and health care from health office, social and labor affair office, and other concerned body is highly recommended. District or town health office should address the identified factors to promote the health of the workers.