The project was awarded by the researcher Eric Tapia Escobar
The project is "Psychosocial risk factors and their association with the accident rate and work absenteeism in companies adhering to Mutual de Seguridad,” and the researcher and sociologist Mg Eric Tapia awarded it. Central University of Chile, Ergonomics Chile, and the Mutual de Seguridad CChc will participate in this project between 2023 and 2024.
How was the project born?
As of 2013, Chile applies the Psychosocial Risk Surveillance Protocol at Work. This protocol seeks to identify the presence and level of exposure to these risks through the instrument of the Superintendency of Social Security, SUSESO ISTAS-21. Since then, further research has been carried out at the national level, but they have yet to relate their results to the accident rate and absenteeism.
In this work, a historical cohort study will be carried out to calculate and compare incidence rates of work or commuting accidents, occupational diseases and work absenteeism of companies exposed and not exposed to high levels of psychosocial risk during the years 2013-2021.
This will be done through a descriptive analysis of the time series of psychosocial risk factors (PSRF) observed in companies adhering to Mutual de Seguridad; risk levels and types of PSRF will be stratified according to the established control variables. In addition, epidemiological measures will be calculated to establish the magnitude and speed of the problem, such as incidence rates, relative risk, and attributable risk. Finally, it will deliver a predictive model based on the associations between the intensity of PSRF and the risk of suffering accidents, illnesses, and absenteeism.
"This research will generate evidence on the impact of the PSRF on the accident rate and work absenteeism since the surveillance protocol was implemented in Chile. This will facilitate the design of intervention strategies better focused on the most exposed companies and people," Tapia commented.
This project will be carried out from the year 2023 to 2024.