A possible challenge for occupational health curriculum development: deprivation and occupational injury in British communities

Background: Occupational injury is a significant, preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Previous work has shown the distribution of occupational injury and fatality to vary across Great Britain. This may be due to higher rates of occupational injury and fatality in socio-economically deprived areas. Our study explored the link between occupational injury and fatality and socio-economic indicators of deprivation.
Methods: The aim was to explore associations between socio-economic factors and occupational major injury and fatality rates in Great Britain. A cross-sectional design was employed using official statistics to examine the relationship between 13 single indicators of deprivation and occupational fatalities and major injuries for the 101 administrative districts of England, Scotland and Wales for the years 1999-2001. The data was modelled using generalized estimating equations.
Results: Results showed statistically significant associations between some deprivation variables and the major injury rate.
Conclusions These findings are noteworthy in that they show that indicators of deprivation are associated with occupational major injury rate in the administrative districts of Great Britain. Tentatively they suggest that indicators of deprivation might identify communities that could be targeted to help reduce the incidence of occupational injuries and fatalities and raise the question of what competencies and skills should be included in educational programmes for OH professionals to enable them to fulfill this role.