Guatemala

Organization responsible for the statistics

Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social, Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social (Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Guatemala Institute of Social Security).

Periodicity

Compilation: Monthly.

Publication: Annual.

Source

Medical records of patients.

Objectives and users

To provide basic health information.

Major users:

Actuaries, cost and budget analysts, health departments and the labour ministry.

Coverage

Persons:

Paid employees covered by the Régimen de Seguridad Social, the Social Security Scheme. Paid employees in domestic service are not included.

Approximately 856,000 workers are covered.

Economic activities:

All economic activities and sectors.

Geographic areas:

The whole country.

The statistics do not include nationals working abroad or persons normally residing outside the country.

Establishments:

Enterprises with one or two workers are not included.

Types of occupational accidents covered

Occupational injuries that provide entitlement to compensation. All types of occupational accidents, including commuting accidents.

The statistics include occupational diseases; they are not distinguished from the other cases.

Concepts and definitions

Occupational accident:

An occurrence that arises out of or in the course of duties performed by a worker for his employer during the time they were being carried out or should have been carried out.

Occupational injury:

Personal injury or disease caused by an accident that may or may not result in loss of body part or function and that may give rise solely to an allowance for days of disability, or to an allowance plus compensation, or to neither.

Commuting accident:

An occurrence involving a worker who is en route to or from the workplace.

Also included are accidents that occur away from the workplace, in the course of performing employment-related activities.

Loss of working time:

Days of incapacity for work, including the time required for medical consultation after returning to work.

Fatal occupational injury:

Occupational injury leading to death.

Temporary incapacity to work:

Occupational injury that causes loss of working time, with subsequent complete recovery of health.

Permanent incapacity to work:

Occupational injury that causes loss of working time, with partial recovery of health or total incapacity for work.

Minimum period of absence from work: none.

Maximum period for death to be considered a fatal occupational injury: none.

Types of information compiled

(a) personal characteristics of persons injured: sex, age, occupation;

(b) amount of worktime lost: patient-days;

(d) characteristics of injuries: part of body injured and information concerning permanent disability, type of loss of body part or function and extent of disability;

(e) characteristics of employers or workplaces: economic activity;

(f) other characteristics: number of hospitalizations and amount of allowance.

Measurement of worktime lost

Time lost is measured in days of temporary incapacity to work with entitlement to compensation.

The time required for medical consultation is only compiled in cases in which the time lost is less than one day. Compensated days are compiled starting with the third day following the accident.

Classifications

This information is not compiled for cases of temporary disability; that is, for injuries that do not result in the loss of a body part or function. If they do result in the loss of a body part or function, they are classified as follows:

(a) fatal or non-fatal accidents:

(b) extent of disability;

(c) economic activity;

(d) occupation;

(e) type of injury;

(f) cause of accident:

not applicable;

(g) duration of absence from work:

not applicable;

(h) characteristics of workers:

not applicable;

(i) characteristics of accidents:

not applicable;

(j) characteristics of employers or workplaces:

not applicable.

Reference period

Month.

An injury is included in the statistics for the period (month) in which the accident occurred.

The period of incapacity for work established by the physician is recorded in the medical record.

Estimates

Total number of initial consultations, total number of emergencies and total number of hospital admissions as a result of occupational accidents.

Historical background of the series

The statistics were first compiled in 1952. The objective was to provide basic health information. The most recent changes were carried out in 1995.

Documentation

Series available:

The following tables are published:

external consultation for accidents by medical unit;
external consultation by medical unit, type of accident and type of consultation;
consultations for accidents in specialized clinics;
admissions and patient-days, occupational accidents and ordinary accidents;
relationship between accidents sustained and the number of workers per year;
occupational accident cases and ordinary accident cases, in rehabilitation;
cases of rehabilitation for functional disability;
cases and average amount of total benefit by type of accident with permanent disability;
number of cases by location and percentage disability of the injured member or organ;
number of cases of occupational accidents, according to:
- location of the disability and the usual occupation of the injured person;
- the usual occupation of the injured person and economic activity of the enterprise (permanent disability).

Bibliographic references:

The data are published in:

Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social: Boletín Estadístico (annual).

idem: Incapacidad Permanente (annual).

Methodological notes for the statistics are not published.

All data are published.

Data published by ILO:

The following data have been furnished to the ILO for publication in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics, relating to compensated injuries (including commuting accidents and occupational diseases), according to major division of economic activity: number of persons fatally injured from 1986 to 1992; number of persons injured with lost workdays from 1991 to 1995; total number of persons injured in 1991 and 1992; number of days lost by persons injured who lost worktime from 1991 to 1995; and rates of fatal injuries from 1986 to 1990.

Confidentiality:

There is no restriction whatsoever on non-personal information.

International standards

Owing to a lack of knowledge, the current international statistical standards and guidelines were not taken into account.

Method of data collection

Legislation:

With respect to the Régimen de Seguridad Social, Social Security Scheme, provisions concerninng compensation for permanent disability due to an accident are stipulated in Article 30, Agreement 1002, of the Board of Directors of the Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social (IGSS). The coverage provided by the compensation scheme ranges from the loss of a phalanx of any finger or toe to organic cerebral syndrome.

Reporting:

Granted automatically. Once the injury has stabilized or the rehabilitation treatment is finished, permanent disability cases are evaluated and classified by the Sección de Medicina Legal y Evaluación de Incapacidades, Forensic Medicine and Disability Evaluation Section, and the record is submitted to the Departamento de Prestaciones en Dinero, Cash Benefits Department for payment. There are no official forms for filing compensation claims, nor instructions or guidelines on the compensation scheme or on filing compensation claims.

Data reported:

Not applicable.

Changes planned:

none.