[Occupational accidents in Botucatu, São Paulo, recorded by the Social Security System from 1995 to 1999]

This study describes workplace accidents recorded by the Social Security Office in Botucatu, São Paulo, from 1995 to 1999. Related work force information for the same period was obtained from the 8 largest industrial companies in the city. Data were coded and processed electronically. A total of 2,462 accidents were recorded. Of these, 87.3% were workplace accidents, 6.1% occurred while commuting, and 6.6% were occupational diseases. From 1996 to 1999 there was a reduction in workplace accidents reflecting a drop in accidents at the largest companies. Mean time-off-the-job due to accidents was greater in small companies (16.21 to 24.32 days) than in the large ones (9.83 to 12.78 days), with a statistical significance of alpha = 5% and p = 0.0001.

(a) confirm that analyses based on number of officially recorded workplace accidents are limited; (b) show the importance of improving the quality of the system for recording workplace accidents in order to include all classes of workers, not only the registered work force; and (c) show that changes in company work management strategies are important to understand local changes in accident frequency.