Reply to Letter Regarding “Patterns and Prevention of Occupational Eye Injuries: A Narrative Review” [Response to Letter]

Dear Editor

We appreciate Dr. Haque’s insightful response to our review of occupational eye injuries.¹ Our paper highlights the ocular hazards that are unique and intrinsic to various occupations, such as the use of heavy machinery or chemical handling.² In these settings, mechanisms of injury and regulatory oversight are relatively well defined. Workers in these environments are also more likely to be captured in regulatory surveillance systems. However, we acknowledge that migrant or transient workers within high-risk industries may be underrepresented in large-scale occupational injury datasets. Underreporting in these populations is a well-established limitation of administrative surveillance and warrants continued attention.

We do not wish to minimize the potential impact of occupational injuries among gig economy workers. As Dr. Haque correctly notes, independent contractor status introduces unique challenges related to workers’ compensation eligibility, access to employer-sponsored safety programs, and oversight of personal protective equipment use. These are important considerations as the workforce continues to evolve.

At the same time, many injuries sustained in gig-based occupations, such as bicycle-related trauma, motor vehicle collisions, or assault among delivery workers,³ differ from task-specific hazards that were the primary focus of our review. While these injuries may occur during the course of work, they are not exclusive to the occupational setting, and often reflect broader environmental risk, such as urban traffic exposure and violence-related risks, rather than traditional occupational equipment or material hazards. While these domains certainly overlap under the broader umbrella of work-related injury, they raise distinct prevention, policy, and public health considerations that extend beyond the scope of our current manuscript.

We strongly agree with Dr. Haque that future occupational health research and injury prevention frameworks should continue to evolve to better capture and address platform-based and non-traditional employment models. We appreciate his contribution in drawing attention to this important and growing segment of the workforce.