Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jan 19;17(1):e77661.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.77661. eCollection 2025 Jan.

Occupational Injuries in Greece: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Pantelis Politis  1 , Michalis Leotsinidis  1 , Eleni Jelastopulu  1 , Irini Tatani  2
Affiliations
Review

Occupational Injuries in Greece: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Pantelis Politis et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Occupational injuries represent a significant public health issue, impacting workers' health, productivity, and economic stability. This systematic review aims to summarize and analyze the existing literature on occupational injuries in Greece, focusing on their prevalence, types, causes, and associated risk factors. A systematic search was performed using the databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Keywords used included ("occupational" OR "agricultural" OR "work-related") AND ("injuries" OR "accidents") AND ("Greece" OR "Greek"). Inclusion criteria were clinical studies providing quantitative data on occupational injuries in Greece. Case reports, reviews, studies in other than English language, and conference papers were excluded. Data were extracted regarding study design, population, types of injuries, causes, and risk factors. A total of 22 studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing various sectors such as construction, agriculture, industry, and healthcare. Most studies were cross-sectional and retrospective cohorts. The prevalence of occupational injuries varied widely across different sectors, with construction and agriculture showing the highest rates, reaching 30%. Common types of injuries included fractures, sprains, and cuts, with machinery-related accidents and falls being the most frequent causes. Risk factors identified included young age, working inexperience, lack of safety training, insufficient protective equipment, and poor regulatory enforcement. Occupational injuries in Greece are a prevalent and diverse problem, heavily influenced by sector-specific factors and general safety culture. There is a need for improved regulatory frameworks, enhanced safety training programs, and better enforcement of existing laws to reduce the incidence of these injuries.

Keywords: accidents; agricultural; greece; occupational; work-related injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. PRISMA study selection flowchart
PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Global estimates of the burden of injury and illness at work in 2012. Takala J, Hämäläinen P, Saarela KL, et al. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2014;11:326–337. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Occupational injuries in workers from different ethnicities. Mekkodathil A, El-Menyar A, Al-Thani H. Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2016;6:25–32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Human errors and occupational injuries of older female workers in residential healthcare facilities for the elderly. Kim JS, Jeong BY. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2020;26:497–506. - PubMed
    1. Association between extreme temperature exposure and occupational injuries among construction workers in Italy: an analysis of risk factors. Gariazzo C, Taiano L, Bonafede M, Leva A, Morabito M, De' Donato F, Marinaccio A. Environ Int. 2023;171 - PubMed
    1. Transient risk factors of acute occupational injuries: a case-crossover study in two Danish emergency departments. Østerlund AH, Lander F, Nielsen K, Kines P, Möller J, Lauritsen J. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2017;43:217–225. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources