title: Economic evaluation of occupational safety preventive measures in a hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When an organization performs an integrated analysis of risks through its Occupational Health and Safety Management System, several steps are suggested to address the implications of the identified risks. Namely, the organization should make a detailed analysis of the monetary impact for the organization of each of the preventive measures considered. However, it is also important to perform an analysis of the impact of each measure on society (externalities).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this paper is to present a case study related to the application of the proposed economic evaluation methodology.
  
  
  METHODS
  An analysis of the work accidents in a hospital has been made. Three of the major types of accidents have been selected: needle stings, falls and excessive strain. Following the risk assessment, some preventive measures have been designed. Subsequently, the Benefit/Cost ratio (B/C) of these measures has been calculated, both in financial terms (from the organization's perspective) and in economic terms (including the benefits for the worker and for the Society).
  
  
  RESULTS
  While the financial ratio is only advantageous in some cases, when the externalities are taken into account, the B/C ratio increases significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important to consider external benefits to make decisions concerning the implementation of preventive measures in Occupational Health and Safety projects.
authors.affiliation: Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Technology School, Barcelos, Portugal.|University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: Delfina G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Industrial and Technology Management, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Arezes
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Industrial and Technology Management, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Afonso
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control; D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000379:methods; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000191:economics*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011174:Portugal; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Cost-benefit analysis; externalities; financial analysis; occupational accidents