100 Med J Malaysia Vol 71 Supplement 1 June 2016 ABSTRACT A literature review of 16 papers on occupational injury research in Malaysia published during a 13-year period from 2000-2013 was carried out. The objective of this review and article selection was based on relevance to the research theme and mention of areas for future research. Most of the publications have focused on descriptive epidemiology, management practices, worker’s knowledge, attitude, training, and rehabilitation services. The transportation, agriculture and construction sectors were found to be the most hazardous sectors and would benefit the most from Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) research and interventions. There is a strong need to develop a national injury surveillance system and also a mechanism to ensure adherence to the Occupational Safety & Health Act(OSHA) 1994. Detailed description and identification of risk factors for occupational injury in the environment, including machinery and equipment used was generally lacking. Future research on occupational injury should focus on surveillance to determine the magnitude of occupational injuries, determination of risk factors, identifying cost- effective interventions (such as enforcement of OSHA regulations), and assessment of rehabilitation services. Relevant government agencies, universities, corporate sector and occupational safety organizations need to play a proactive role in identifying priority areas and research capacity building. Funding for occupational injury should be commensurate with the magnitude of the problem. INTRODUCTION AND METHODS The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines occupational injury as “Any personal injury, disease or death resulting from an occupational accident”. Worldwide, there are about 100 million cases of occupational injury each year, 1 resulting in 350,000 deaths. 2 Developing countries have the highest injury fatality rate. 3,4 Occupational safety and health is important for moral, legal and financial reasons. We identified all publications on occupational injury research in Malaysia from year 2000 to year 2013 through a database dedicated to indexing all original data relevant to medicine in Malaysia using the medical subject heading (MeSH) Occupational Injuries. 5 Sixteen publications were selected for inclusion in this review based on relevance to the research theme and mention of areas for future research. 5 A summary of the findings and recommendations was made. The objective of this review article is to summarize what has already been published in Malaysia on Occupational Injuries, to identify gaps in knowledge, policy and to explore potential areas for future research. SECTION 1: REVIEW OF LITERATURE Occupational Injury Prevention, Surveillance and Rehabilitation in Malaysia In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible for enforcing the law on occupational safety and health, which was introduced in 1994. The Occupational Health Unit conducts surveillance activities. The notification of occupational poisonings, diseases and injuries is done by hospitals and clinics within the Ministry of Health. Malaysia’s Social Security Organization (SOCSO), also known as Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (PERKESO), was set up in 1971 to provide socioeconomic security for non-government employees. The Employees Social Security Act 1969 mandates all employers to insure their employees for workplace diseases or injuries by contributing to SOCSO. Data obtained from SOCSO are more comprehensive than those obtained from Malaysia’s Department of Safety and Health. 6 Up till 2006, SOCSO covers 67% of total formal workforce within Malaysia. 7,8 SOCSO provides employment injury insurance schemes, disability benefits, rehabilitation programs and certified training programs for disability assessment (CMIA). Workers compensation for injury is provided by both the government and private sectors. The Persons with Disability (PWD) Act 2008 empowers PWDs to obtain various privileges such as the right to special barrier –free access to public facilities. The Labor Department has various vocational programs for the employment of PWDs. SOCSO introduced the Return-To-Work program(RTW) in the year 2007 to rehabilitate workers suffering from injuries to achieve their maximum functional capacity at work. The RTW process can be divided into 4 phases: (i) Off duty, (ii) Re- entry, (iii) Maintenance and (iv) Advancement. The RTW programs are managed by the Ministry of Human Resource. Epidemiology Adinegara et al. conducted a secondary data analysis of the SOCSO database to examine the fatal occupational injures in Malaysia. 7 This refers to the death of an employee in the workplace as a result of any injury occurring during employment. This also included death occurring outside the workplace while performing official duties as an employee. A Review of Occupational Injury Research In Malaysia Ganesh CS, MBBS 1 , Krishnan R, FCRP, FRACGP 2 1 Clinical Research Centre & Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, 2 Professor and Head of Department, Department of Family Medicine, Penang Medical College Corresponding Author: dr.ganesh1985@yahoo.com