[Occupational accidents in Botucatu, São Paulo, recorded by the Social Security System from 1995 to 1999]. / Estudo da evolução dos acidentes do trabalho registrados pela Previdência Social no período de 1995 a 1999, em Botucatu, São Paulo.

UNLABELLED: This study describes workplace accidents recorded by the Social Security Office in Botucatu, São Paulo, from 1995 to 1999. Related work force information for the same period was obtained from the 8 largest industrial companies in the city. Data were coded and processed electronically. A total of 2,462 accidents were recorded. Of these, 87.3% were workplace accidents, 6.1% occurred while commuting, and 6.6% were occupational diseases. From 1996 to 1999 there was a reduction in workplace accidents reflecting a drop in accidents at the largest companies. Mean time-off-the-job due to accidents was greater in small companies (16.21 to 24.32 days) than in the large ones (9.83 to 12.78 days), with a statistical significance of alpha = 5% and p = 0.0001. THE RESULTS: (a) confirm that analyses based on number of officially recorded workplace accidents are limited; (b) show the importance of improving the quality of the system for recording workplace accidents in order to include all classes of workers, not only the registered work force; and (c) show that changes in company work management strategies are important to understand local changes in accident frequency.

Blaming the victim: aspects of the Brazilian case.

This report describes the consequences and some aspects of the origin and development of victim blaming in accident analysis, and some methods for investigating such events, with particular emphasis on the situation in Brazil. In Brazil, the spread of this practice seems to have been helped by several factors. (1) The idea that occupational accidents are simple phenomena with a limited number of causal factors linked to unsafe actions and/or conditions. In the past, the theory of accident proneness had less influence than in other countries. (2) Government regulations that stipulate the hiring of health and safety officers, production of "educational" material, and "preventive" campaigns that emphasize the role of the victim's "faulty" behavior in the origin of an accident. (3) Mandatory implementation of standardized models for accident investigation directed toward searching for a single "cause." Usually one conclusion, expressed in terms of unsafe acts or conditions, is formulated so that whoever performs an unsafe act is responsible for the accident. (4) Lack of knowledge, as shown in Brazilian publications on occupational accidents and in the evolution of studies on the nature of accident phenomena and of strategies adopted for their prevention.

[Work accidents in Brazil. A study in São Paulo state, Brazil, the Botucatu region, using the causal tree method]. / Gli infortuni sul lavoro in Brasile. Studio nello Stato di San Paolo del Brasile, regione di Botucatu, utilizzando il metodo dell'albero delle cause.

This paper discusses, within the prevailing Brazilian situation, the possibility of applying "causal tree" (CT) method in investigating occupational accidents by safety personnel in the public health services and workers' unions. The method was developed during the seventies in France, for use by plant safety personnel. The authors used this method in Botucatu, state of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to investigate 40 serious occupational accidents that occurred in industrial plants during the second half of 1993, that had been registered by social security. In these cases, the predominance of situations in which the lack of safety measures were identified by inspection indicates that in most instances, the use of CT is unnecessary. However, the authors discuss its use by safety personnel from the public health services and workers' unions to investigate certain accidents to contribute to the knowledge base and help overcome the cultural based guilt which, in Brazil, has turned the victim into the person responsible for the accident.

Anthropotechnological analysis of industrial accidents in Brazil.

The Brazilian Ministry of Labour has been attempting to modify the norms used to analyse industrial accidents in the country. For this purpose, in 1994 it tried to make compulsory use of the causal tree approach to accident analysis, an approach developed in France during the 1970s, without having previously determined whether it is suitable for use under the industrial safety conditions that prevail in most Brazilian firms. In addition, opposition from Brazilian employers has blocked the proposed changes to the norms. The present study employed anthropotechnology to analyse experimental application of the causal tree method to work-related accidents in industrial firms in the region of Botucatu, São Paulo. Three work-related accidents were examined in three industrial firms representative of local, national and multinational companies. On the basis of the accidents analysed in this study, the rationale for the use of the causal tree method in Brazil can be summarized for each type of firm as follows: the method is redundant if there is a predominance of the type of risk whose elimination or neutralization requires adoption of conventional industrial safety measures (firm representative of local enterprises); the method is worth while if the company's specific technical risks have already largely been eliminated (firm representative of national enterprises); and the method is particularly appropriate if the firm has a good safety record and the causes of accidents are primarily related to industrial organization and management (multinational enterprise).

[Safety assessment of a Brazilian company based on analysis of work accidents by the causal tree method]. / Diagnostic de sécurité d'une entreprise brésilienne à partir de l'analyse des accidents du travail par la méthode de l'arbre des causes.

We present here the results of a study of 21 work-related accidents that occurred in a Brazilian manufacturing company. The aim was to assess the safety level of the company to improve its work accident prevention policy. In the last 6 months of 1992 and 1993, all accidents resulting in 15 days' absence from work, reported for social security purposes, were analyzed using the INRS causal tree method (ADC) and a questionnaire completed on site. Potential risk factors for accidents were identified based on the specific factors highlighted by the ADC. More universal trees were also compiled for the safety assessment. Three hundred and thirty specific accident factors were recorded (mean of 15.71 per accident). This is consistent with there being multiple causes of accidents rather than the assertion of Brazilian business safety departments that accidents are due to "dangerous" or "unsafe" behavior. Introducing the idea of culpability into accidents prevents the implementation of an appropriate information feedback process, essential for effective prevention. However, the large number of accidents related to "material" (78%) and "environment" (70%) indicates that working conditions are poor. This shows that the technical risks, mostly due to unsafe machinery and equipment are not being dealt with. Seventy-five potential accident factors were identified. Of these, 35% were "organizational", a high proportion for the company studied. Improvisation occurs at all levels, particularly at the organizational level. This is thus a major determinant for entire series of, if not most, accident situations. The poor condition of equipment also plays a major role in accidents. The effects of poor equipment on safety exacerbate the organizational shortcomings. The company's safety intervention policy should improve the management of human resources (rules designating particular workers for particular workstations; instructions for the safe operation of machines and equipment; training of operators, etc.) and introduce programs to detect risks and to improve the safety of machines and equipment. We also recommend the establishment of a program to follow the results of any preventive measures adopted.

[Internship in Public Health at the Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu]. / Internato de Saúde Pública na Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu.

An experiment in the teaching of public health for interns in the sixth year of medical training was launched in 1978 on the basis of the clinical practice of health services in Botucatu and neighboring municipalities. The course was designed to promote the practice of primary medical care, contacts with the different health professionals, analysis of the relations between health and the social structure, and an understanding of the organization of medical care in Brazil through discussions of day-to-day activities in health services, and of the role of medicine and medical care in the present capitalistic production structure of Brazil. The paper reports on the teaching experiment in 1978 and 1979, when the supervised training was taken by 85 and 95 interns, respectively, in groups of seven or eight for periods of 18 working days at the Botucatu Health Center-School (CSE) and the Anhembi and Itatinga Health Services. A comparison of the answers to tests given before and after the training and the opinions recorded by the students on the activities carried on show an improvement in their perceptions of team-work and of health education in the role of medicine and medical care in society. Most of the students expressed open approval of the training as a whole.