epidemiology of occupational injuries in kashan during 2005-2006

background: according to international labor organization (ilo), annually, an estimated 15 million people suffer occupational accidents and one million die from their accidents, throughout the world. occupational injuries and accidents can result in personal disability and impairment. the purpose of this study was to identify and describe the work related injuries in kashan during 2005-2006. materials and methods: this descriptive study was carried on 1517 workers injured in their workplaces including factories, farms, and different kinds of office works, in kashan. a specifically designed questionnaire was completed for all cases of occupational injuries referred to the emergency departments during 2005 to 2006 by a trained nurse. data was analyzed by x2 test. results: out of 1517 work related injury cases 1476 (97.3%) were male, with age between 12 and 75 years (29.7± 10.2). most of the patients were in the age range of 20 to 29 (41.3%) and most of them had less than 4 years history of work (42.7%). eyes (53.6%) and hands (26.6%) were the most common sites of injury. almost half of injuries happened in office works (50.2%) and then in industrial and mining workplaces (48.3%) followed by 1.5% in agricultural activities. in this study the most important mechanisms of injury were blunt objects trauma (39.3%) and then working with machines (14.3%). there is a significant relation between location of injury in body and workplace, and also between the injured organ and kind of injury (pv<0.001). conclusions: paying further attention to safety standards, as well as proper training for working with machines and in specific situations may reduce the magnitude and severity of occupational injuries.