# Evaluation of underreporting occupational accidents among workers who handle laboratory animals

## TL;DR

This study finds that nearly half of workers handling lab animals underreport occupational accidents, highlighting the need for better awareness and reporting protocols.

## Contribution

The study quantifies underreporting of occupational accidents among lab animal handlers and identifies demographic and injury patterns associated with non-reporting.

## Key findings

- 44.8% of workers underreported occupational accidents involving laboratory animals.
- Women, mixed-race individuals, and those with doctorates were more likely to underreport.
- Scratches and bites were common unreported injuries, while cuts and falls were most recorded.

## Abstract

Occupational accidents pose a substantial health risk and represent a critical public
health concern. While reporting occupational accidents is legally mandated, occupational
accidents are significantly underreported, leading to institutional challenges and
obstacles in planning and implementing preventive policies.

To evaluate how often workers who handle laboratory animals report their occupational
accidents at the Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em
Biomodelos/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz and to correlate this rate with their
possible causes.

This is an observational cohort study including workers who handle laboratory animals
at the Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biomodelos/Fundação
Oswaldo Cruz. Data were collected from questionnaires that these workers filled in and
then compared to the accident records reported to the Núcleo de Saúde do
Trabalhador (Brazil Workers’ Health Center) between 2014 and 2019. We used the Research
Electronic Data Capture for data entry and Stata 14 for statistical analysis.

Occupational accidents were underreported by 44.8% of the workers who handle laboratory
animals at the Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em
Biomodelos/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. The characteristics of those who mostly
underreported were women (63.6%), of mixed-race (55.6%), 35-44 years old (53.3%), with a
doctorate degree (80%), and permanently employed (50%). The most common types of
occupational accident reported in the questionnaires were scratches (17.2%) and bites
(13.8%), while the most common injuries recorded were cuts (26.7%) and trips/falls
(17.8%). Reasons for non-notification were apparent minor severity (57.2%),
unwillingness to report (14.3%), no specific protocol to treat (14.3%), excessive
bureaucracy (7.1%), and high occurrence (7.1%).

The underreporting rate of occupational accidents is 44.8% at the Instituto de
Ciência e Tecnologia em Biomodelos/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Workers’
awareness of the importance and compulsory nature of reporting should be raised to
reduce this rate.