Characterization of occupational accidents in workers of a highly complex hospital in Bogotá D.C. Colombia in the period between January 2020 – June 2022

Introduction: Occupational accident according to the International Labor Organization is defined as an event during working hours or in connection with work that causes fatal or non-fatal injury (1). These are classified as biological and non-biological. Prior to the pandemic, the health sector was the most at risk for occupational accidents. By 2021, occupational risk factors caused a loss of 90 million disability-adjusted life years. The objective of this study is to characterize the occupational accident rate of workers in a fourth level hospital in Bogotá D.C. during the period 2020 - 2022. Methodology: A secondary analysis of the databases reporting occupational accidents between January 2020 - June 2022, retrospective descriptive cohort analysis was performed. A total of 652 records were obtained, of which 21 were excluded due to lack of information. The analysis was performed in EPI INFO 7® and Excel®. Results: The female sex presented more accidents (78.92%). The highest reporting is between 20-39 years of age (mean 32.7 years). The year 2020 was the year with the most accidents. The most frequent accident was non-biological (53.41 %), followed by skin injuries (28.84 %) and biological (17.75 %). The emergency department had the highest accident rate (19.97 %). The most affected position was nursing assistant (49.13 %). The most frequent type of injury was wound (25.67%), followed by contusion, blow or crushing (21.7%). The main agent was the use of materials and substances (27.26 %) and the most reported body part was the hand (37.58 %). Conclusions: Most studies in the area identify biological type accidents, however, in this case non-biological risk was the most frequent. Likewise, skin injuries were reported as a new classification, due to the use of personal protection elements during the COVID-19 pandemic. This confirms the need to establish policies to ensure the health and safety of healthcare personnel at work.