Mechanism of Incident - Systems Training Hub - University of Queensland

Mechanism of Injury

The Mechanism describes the overall action, exposure, or event that best explains how the injury or disease occurred.

Grouping incidents by Mechanism helps UQ to:

Understand how injuries happen. By categorising incidents according to the action or event that caused harm (e.g., falls, being trapped, exposure), analysts can clearly see patterns in how injuries occur.
Target prevention efforts. If many injuries are caused by similar mechanisms—such as falls or exposure to hazardous substances—prevention programs can focus on improving controls for those specific events.

Mechanism of Injury category:

Exposure to Physical Hazard
Exposure to Psychosocial Hazard
Personal Health/Medical Event

EXPOSURE TO PHYSICAL HAZARD

> Animal/Biological Exposure or Contact

> Chemical/Material/Substance Exposure or Contact

> Crushed/Pinched/Trapped

> Cut/Punctured

> Electrical Exposure or Contact

> Fire/Smoke/Explosion Exposure or Event

> Heat/Cold Exposure or Contact

> Hitting or Being Hit by Something

> Oxygen Deprivation (eg. Drowning, Gas Leak)

> Physical Stress (eg. Manual Tasks, Awkward Postures)

> Pressure/Sound/Vibration Exposure or Contact

> Radiation/Lasers Exposure or Contact

> Slip, Trip or Fall Event

> Vehicle Incident

EXPOSURE TO PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARD

> Long-term or ongoing psychosocial issue

> Short-term, single or one-off psychosocial event

PERSONAL HEALTH/MEDICAL EVENT

> Health issue - Work related

> Health issue - Not work related