Work-related and non-work-related accident fatal falls in Shanghai and Wuhan, China

Purpose: In China, despite annually fall accidents caused more than 80,000 deaths, studies on occupational falls were scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate into work-related and non-work-related fatal falls in two major cities, Shanghai and Wuhan, China. Methods: The police records of accident fatal falls in Shanghai (2004-2017) and Wuhan (2009-2014) were used. Poisson regression was used to show the rate ratios related to city, gender, age, occupation, and height of the falls. Chi-square test was used to examine the demographic differences between the two cities. Results: The annual fall mortality rates (per 100,000) were 0.35 and 0.49 in Shanghai and Wuhan, respectively. Work-related and non-work-related falls shared about equal proportion (rate ratio: 0.99). The demographics of work-related falls were similar in the two cities. Work-related falls were much more likely to occur in the males than in the females (Shanghai 88:2, Wuhan 76:3). Real estate constructions and household decoration accidents accounted for most work-related falls (Shanghai 55/90, Wuhan 66/79). Conclusions: In China, each year, construction-related fall mortalities could exceed 2000. These rates are similar to the USA and they are much higher than the official figures. Thus, safety measures for construction workers and household decoration workers should be improved, particularly for those self-employed workers and workers affiliated to small companies. Some compulsory safety course might also be needed to raise the safety awareness among these workers as well. Moreover, improving the safety of young children should be another area to prioritize in injury prevention.