Work accidents registered in the Brazilian social security system between 2016 and 2020: a descriptive analysis

More than 500,000 work accidents were registered each year in Brazil from 2016 to 2018, representing more than BRL 300 million in expenditures. To analyze the prevalence of work accidents in Brazil between 2016 and 2020 according to geographic region, age group, and sex and analyze the prevalence according to the cause and economic activity type. Descriptive, cross-sectional study based on data from the Social Security Statistics Yearbook. The work accident rate between 2016 and 2019 was lower than in previous years. The Southern and Southeastern regions had the highest prevalence of work accidents (11.7/1,000 workers and 9.10/1,000 workers, respectively), while the Northeastern region had the lowest rate (6.22/1,000 workers). There was a greater reduction in work accidents among men than women. The most prevalent types of work accidents involved injuries, poisoning, and other external causes, in addition to diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. Record keeping about work accidents must be improved, given that informal workers are not considered in social security data. More accurate data can also help increase prevention efforts, and can lead to more effective occupational health and safety policies to further reduce the work accident rate.