Incidence of self-reported, non-fatal, on-board injuries among Sri Lankan flight attendants

Objective
This study was conducted to determine the incidence of on board injuries among Sri Lankan flight attendants working on long-haul international commercial airline operations
Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among Sri Lankan flight attendants. A respondent driven sampling technique was used as sampling technique. Email invitations were used to recruit study units and a web based questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. Subjects who were flying more than 6 months were included in the sample. If they were away from work for more than two weeks due to any reason other than injury related medical leave were excluded. Self reported injuries during the last six months were the main outcome measure recorded.
Results
Incidence of self reported job related injuries among this study sample (n=93) was 1217/1000 person years. 40 out of 93 study units (43%) reported at least one injury during the last six months.  60% of the injuries were inflicted while pulling, pushing or lifting luggage and service trolly. Being struck by or against something (15%) and a fall, a slip or trip (12.5%) was other common causes. Sprains and strains accounted for 47.5% of the injuries followed by burns (20%) and cut injuries(17.5 %). 30% of injuries were related to turbulence whereas service trolley and handling baggage were related with 20% and 12.5% of the injuries respectively.  Parts of the body commonly affected were Back-37.5%, Upperlimbs-35% and lower limbs-12.5%. Nearly 30% of injuries required time off to recover and 55% of the injuries were perceived by the respondents as preventable injuries. Only 32% of the sample received ergonomic training and lack of ergonomic training was significantly associated with injuries (p<.05).
Conclusion Job related injuries are common among flight attendants and training on ergonomics might be helpful in preventing these injuries.