Morbidity patterns among employees at a petroleum refinery

Article Abstract:

The health of workers can be used as a measure of the quality of the environmental and occupational conditions in their work area. The occurrence of injuries and illnesses can be used as indicators of areas that require improvement efforts. Morbidity (illness) data for petroleum refinery workers have rarely been collected and compared with those of employees at other work sites. This prospective study was conducted with a cohort of 2,132 male employees of the Shell Oil Company who worked at the Wood River facilities from 1981 through 1988. Employees were divided into a staff group (752 subjects), including office and supervisory persons, and a production group (1,380 subjects), including all other personnel. The participants were identified from the rolls of an ongoing company-wide health surveillance program. Illness absences of more than six consecutive days were examined. Risk factors included in the study were derived from the same data base. Control data were calculated from standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) calculated from data of all manufacturing personnel in the company. The overall morbidity was virtually the same for this facility as for all other Shell manufacturing facilities. The disease patterns were not necessarily due to occupational factors; life style, habits, climate, and health care utilization and medical practice in different geographic areas influenced the outcomes. Neoplasms and disorders of the nervous and genitourinary systems, hypertension, and infections were more common among staff employees. Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, especially back pain and sprains, were statistically greater among staff workers. Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders, especially sebaceous cysts and nail problems, were significantly greater among production workers. Most of these problems were found to be unrelated to occupational exposures. The incidence of abnormalities of the lymphatic system and blood was slightly higher among production staff, but involved only three cases. New health intervention programs, based on the findings of this study, will be initiated and focus on the areas of smoking cessation, injury prevention and increased attention to skin problems. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Petroleum industry, Petroleum workers

---

Incidence and cost of injury in an industrial population

Article Abstract:

The leading cause of death of individuals under the age of 45 is injury. Injuries also represent the main cause of premature death among individuals under the age of 70. The rate of injury is surprisingly high; in 1980 nearly one-third of the residents of the US were injured severely enough to seek medical attention or to have their normal activities interrupted. Demographic and personal information, as well as information about health insurance and workers' compensation, was collected from all full-time employees of two large manufacturing divisions of a major corporation. The overall rate of injury was 32 accidents per 100 employees; overall men had a significantly greater accident rate, 33.3, than women, 24.9. The accident rate of men declined with age until age 55, past which women had a higher accident rate than men. Hourly employees had a higher rate of accidents than did salaried employees. Other personal characteristics which correlated to accident rate included socioeconomic status, rural or urban location, ethnicity, alcohol use and educational level. The total per capita cost of injury was $240 for occupational and nonoccupational injuries. The cost of the injuries in the entire population was $4.97 million, representing approximately 25 percent of the corporation's health care expenses. The lower back was the most common region of nonoccupational injury, composing 19 to 29 percent of workers' compensation claims and accounting for 41 percent of all costs. Lacerations and contusions make up the greatest number of occupational injuries, and strains and sprains compose the majority of cost. Many types of injuries can be prevented, and considering the enormous cost of injuries $75 to 100 billion annually such prevention would be cost-effective.

Research, Economic aspects, Workplace accidents, Accidents, Medicine, Industrial, Industrial medicine

---

Use of group health insurance claims data to assess morbidity among employed persons

Article Abstract:

There have been many attempts during recent years by corporations in the United States to collect morbidity (illness) data for statistical evaluation. Firms would like the information in order to track work exposure that may be connected to work-related illness. The collection of data and the maintenance of a computerized database of such information is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. However, health care insurance information is a potentially lower cost source of such data, although minor complaints may not be reported. Similar to information collected from death certificates, data collected by insurance companies may report inconsistent diagnosis information and terminology (nosologic inconsistency). Other limitations are that examining physicians may use different terminology than insurance claims processors who use the International Classification of Disease to code insurance information. Currently, most corporations do not use health care insurance data to determine morbidity. The reason is that while insurance companies usually provide claims information and analyses to corporate financial officers to support higher insurance rates, they usually do not provide the information to corporate medical and health departments. An instance where collaboration among a corporate benefits and medical department and its insurers did take place resulted in the design of health care programs which reduced morbidity and costs. The data also provided objective information regarding the progress of corporate wellness programs.

Analysis, Reports, Diseases, Information services, Health insurance industry, Medical statistics

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Implementation of a professional practice model for nursing in a rural hospital. Staff nurse views of their productivity and nonproductivity
• Abstracts: Economic foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis. User charges and priority setting in health care: balancing equity and efficiency
• Abstracts: Slicing the pie thinner: hospitals and physicians square off over primary care services. Your friendly neighborhood diagnosis-aiding talking computer
• Abstracts: Business examines hospitals. The next step: the Feds and hospital recognize that payment incentives need changing
• Abstracts: Business analysis in occupational health and safety consultations. An outbreak of infectious conjunctivitis spread by microscopes

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.