Assessing the impact of Kazakhstan's compulsory accident insurance system: an interim cross-sectoral survey analysis

Abstract

The study employed a sociological survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the system of Compul-sory Accident Insurance (CAI) in Kazakhstan for the implementation of preventive, compensatory, and rehabilitative functions. The survey was conducted between July 15 to August 15, 2022, using a multi-stage sampling technique to select respondents from three regions in Kazakhstan. Data were collected from three categories of respondents: employers and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) managers, workers who suffered an accident and were assigned the degree of occupational disability, and workers who perform work activities (services). The collected data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the quantitative data, while content analysis was used for qualitative data. The study found that the compen-sation function of the system of insurance against occupational accidents predominates in Kazakhstan, while the preventive and rehabilitative functions were found to be less effective. Regarding the level of satisfaction with the current system of insurance against occupational accidents, the majority of employ-ers (85%) were found to be satisfied with the current system, while only 55% of workers who suffered an accident and were assigned the degree of occupational disability were satisfied. Workers who perform work activities (services) were the least satisfied with the current system, with only 45% expressing sat-isfaction. The survey revealed that the main reason for occupational accidents in Kazakhstan is workers' exposure to occupational hazards. The study found that male respondents accounted for 72.5% of the total respondents, while female respondents accounted for 27.5%. The age group of respondents in the survey was distributed as follows: 11.2% were aged between 18 to 24 years, 47.6% were between 31 to 45 years, 37.0% were between 46 to 60 years, and 4.2% were aged 61 years and above. The manu-facturing industry had the highest representation among the respondents, accounting for 26.8% of the total. The mining sector followed closely, representing 20.8% of the respondents. Other sectors that had a significant representation in the survey were construction, public health and social services, transporta-tion and warehousing, retail trade and administrative services, electricity and gas, and agriculture.

The results highlight the need for stronger preventive measures to reduce the number of occupa-tional accidents in the country. The demographic profile of workers who are most at risk of occupational accidents and injuries was also analyzed, providing insight into the age range, gender distribution, and economic sectors most affected by occupational accidents and injuries in Kazakhstan.

Key words: compulsory accident insurance, sociological survey, occupational accident, sociology of insurance, sociology of labor.