Who's counting anyway? the problem with occupational safety and health statistics
Article Abstract:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which was created in 1970, was charged with the administration, development, and enforcement of programs designed to reduce injury and illness in the workplace. OSHA contracted with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to provide injury statistics required for identifying problems, establishing priorities and standards, enforcing new standards, and evaluating program outcomes. BLS conducts annual surveys of 280,000 employers with more than 10 workers to fulfill OSHA's data requirements. Unfortunately, the data obtained from BLS is of questionable accuracy because of vagueness and inadequate reporting schemes, as well as limited demographic data about injured persons and inadequate details of injury events. OSHA receives BLS data about two years after they are recorded. BLS confidentiality regulations prevents complete data release and validation. Many data bases are collected, tabulated and formatted by other federal agencies and could be tied together to enhance the data requirements of OSHA. A uniform basis for recording specific events according to academic or epidemiologic criteria would facilitate the collection and utilization of these data. An adequate definition of reportable disease is lacking, so that a completed set of data for each event can not be prepared. Detailed recommendations are proposed: (1) revise data collection procedures; use OSHA as the collection agency, and computerize all other data sources; (2) provide training on record keeping to all providers, employers and employees; define a reportable case, and clarify the use of the mandated OSHA log as a surveillance tool; (3) provide more incentives for accurate and meticulous recording and reporting; encourage surveillance and reporting, and enforce the Voluntary Protection Program to assure confidentiality; and (4) develop uniform and detailed information about occupational illness and injury. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1991
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Using Occupational Safety and Health Administration accident investigations to study patterns of work fatalities
Article Abstract:
The value and utility of the any accident and death reporting system is in the derivative benefits; a reduction in morbidity and mortality (illness and death). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducts accident investigations (AIs) of work-related fatalities in all covered industries. Employers are required to report fatalities to OSHA within 48 hours of the event. The OSHA regulations require that AIs determine whether federal standards have not been applied or whether they have been violated; if the event could have been avoided if the standards were adhered to; and if OSHA regulations should be changed to prevent similar accident situations. Other agencies investigate employment-related incidents or collect data on these occurrences. These include the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS), Survey of Occupational Safety and Health; and the National Traumatic Occupational Fatality Study (NTOF), which is part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The BLS receives approximately 300,000 reports annually from various establishments, and publishes fatal events from firms with 11 or more employees. The data of the various agencies were compared and evaluated against each other. Several shortcomings were identified in the OSHA subsets and were related to the exclusion of certain industries and occupations; administrative and interpretive variability; inconsistent accident coding policies (events are coded in the field, leading to individual and general inconsistencies); and the use of variant coding systems for each government agency. Unifying policies and administrative changes in data collection are recommended to increase the quality and benefits of the OSHA program. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1990
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Alcohol and other drug use in occupational fatalities
Article Abstract:
Workplace injuries and deaths due to alcohol and other drugs impact adversely on the public health and the costs of health care. Legal, ethical, social and labor issues render adequate study of this problem difficult, and in many cases, impossible. In an effort to more accurately characterize these fatalities, Alberta Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) and the Medical Examiner's office compiled data on deaths that occurred in the workplace, specifically those related to alcohol and drug use. The data are based on all workplace fatalities that occurred between 1979 and 1986; 459 deaths were reviewed. Test data for alcohol, prescription, nonprescription (over the counter), and illicit drugs are reported. Illicit drugs included narcotics, cocaine, cannabinoids, and amphetamines. Alcohol accounted for 40 deaths; 28 were related to the use of prescription drugs; and 22 to nonprescription drugs. Of all illicit drugs tested, only cannabinoid test results were included in autopsy reports. Employees of heavy industries, construction, mining and transportation accounted for most of the fatalities. Alcohol abuse was the most frequent finding in workplace fatalities, compared with all other drugs. In particular, alcohol use was more likely to be implicated in fatalities involving motor vehicle accidents, falls, and being caught in or under equipment. The use of illicit drugs did not seem to be a significant factor in many cases. The authors suggest that reducing alcohol consumption and offering employee assistance programs for alcohol and drug abuse are the best ways of solving this problem. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1991
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