Objective:
to describe fatal accidents at work reported by the three major newspapers of the State of Bahia.
Methods:
a descriptive study using news from the newspapers A Tarde, Correio da Bahia and Tribuna da Bahia concerning work-related deaths in Bahia in the period 2007-2010.
Results:
a total of 178 work-related accidents resulting in 208 deaths were reported. Workers under 40 years accounted for 61.6%, 96.6% of them being men. Accidents in streets and roads accounted for 71.6% of the reported deaths and typical work accidents accounted for 80.8%; 31.3% of the accidents was caused by firearms; 25% by collisions; 10.1% by rollovers; and 7.2% of the workers was hit by a vehicle. Unintentional violence represented 67.3% of the accidents. The victims were predominantly transport, storage and post office workers (36.1%); 39.9% of the deaths occurred in Salvador.
Conclusion:
due to the well-known work-related accident underreporting, newspapers can be a source of data, especially when these concern to workers prone to urban violence. Newspapers can, thus, help surveillance.
accidents at work; violence at work; occupational health; newspapers
