Introduction: The risk faced by workers who perform work at heights has been mitigated in recent years, largely thanks to the application of various safety measures. However, numerous cases of workplace accidents are still reported, making construction one of the sectors with the highest risk, and with a greater number of injuries or fatal accidents due to falls from heights. Therefore, this article aims to review the literature related to both protective and risk factors that affect workers who perform work at heights; from the identification and assessment of hazards at work, to protocols, safety measures and safe work practices for this population. Objective: to carry out a scope review of the literature that allows identifying protective and risk factors in workers who perform work at heights. Materials and methods: a scoping review of the literature of available studies, in MeSH terms, was carried out. The databases used were: SciELO, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar with the following parameters: any country of origin, available in full text, in English and Spanish, published between 2010 and 2021. A total of 18 articles were included. Results: 18 quantitative studies were selected between cross-sectional, longitudinal and qualitative from which information was extracted on the main risk factors which have to do with the use of scaffolding, lack of training, inexperience of often young workers, Protective factors such as safety manuals and protocols at heights, strategies and protocols by the State and companies that allow and promote the protection of workers who perform work at heights, and finally, recommendations to mitigate the risks were also analyzed. risks mentioned throughout this article. Conclusion: although there are various protocols and regulations that help mitigate the risks of accidents in workers who perform work at heights, it is important to recognize that responsibility does not come only from the contracting company, but also to a large extent from the employees and from external government regulatory entities that guarantee compliance with those standards and protocols for the care of workers.
publication date
September 16, 2021 9:25 PM
Research
keywords
Analysis of the protective and risk factors of work at heights
