Efficacia di un programma di informazione associato ai controlli sul consumo di alcool e stupefacenti nel ridurre i tassi di infortuni sul lavoro

Introduction. We explored the effectiveness of an educational program accompanied by alcohol and drug abuse controls, following the 2006-07 measures of the Italian State-Regions Conference, in reducing the rate of occupational injuries. Methods. Starting Novembre 2007, we implemented periodical controls of alcohol and drug abuse among workers of four hauling firms of the Cagliari province, using a rapid multi-test colorimetric method, serum levels of the γ-glutamil transferase enzyme (γGT), the mean red cell volume (MCV), and alcohol detection in the exhaled breath, accompanying such controls with an educational program on the causes, consequences, and prevention of occupational injuries. We measured the rate of occupational injuries per 105 working hours in 2005-2009; the severity rate was expressed by the number of lost working days due to occupational injuries over 103 working hours. Results. The annual rate of occupational injuries ranged 23.9- 29.7 x 10-5 in 2005-07 and it decreased to 11.7 x 10-5 in 2008-09 (χ2 = 9.78, p 0.0018); the severity rate decreased from 12.7 x 10-3 in 2005-07 to 5.6 x 10-3 in 2008-09. Conclusion. Educational program accompanied with regular controls of alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace, can contribute to substantially lower the rate of occupational injuries