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1 Introduction
Pages 15-30

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From page 15...
... Today, OSH surveillance efforts are fragmented across multiple federal and state agencies that collect, store, analyze, and interpret data to meet their specific agency needs. Agency resources dedicated specifically to work-related safety and health surveillance are limited, partly because the responsibility for occupational health and safety issues is divided between labor and public health and there has never been core public health funding allocated specifically for OSH surveillance.
From page 16...
... BACKGROUND The topic of occupational safety and health surveillance across the United States was last examined comprehensively in a 1987 National Research Council (NRC) report Counting Injuries and Illnesses in the Workplace: Proposals for a Better System (NRC, 1987)
From page 17...
... Approaches to occupational safety and health surveillance have yet to evolve to address effectively the changing nature of work. For example, some current data-collection approaches that use "establishments" as the basic employer unit typically rely on single employers and worksites, which 16 14 12 Workforce Distribution (in %)
From page 18...
... American Indian and Alaska Native and (2b) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
From page 19...
... Also, these technologies offer opportunities to improve the dissemination of information to those that can use surveillance data to take preventive action, thereby improving worker safety and health and reducing associated human and economic costs of work-related injuries and illnesses. PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine formed an ad hoc committee to undertake the current study requested and sponsored by three key federal agencies involved with occupational safety and health: NIOSH, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
From page 20...
... As part of its vision, the committee will • Define essential requirements and goals for a modern occupational safety and health surveillance system; identify critical gaps to fill; reflect on how the methods, tools, and goals of surveillance may have changed since the 1987 NRC surveillance report was issued; and draw also upon other subsequent reports (for example, CDC's Vision for Public Health Surveillance in the 21st Century, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists meeting summaries from 2009 and 2013, and other NRC reports) ; • Conceptualize ways that some surveillance data might be collected, analyzed, interpreted, and disseminated more cost-effectively or innovatively (in cluding identifying novel or underutilized means of collecting data, collecting data at different scales or different interfaces, and creating collaborations across public health and other domains)
From page 21...
... KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Surveillance is not unique to occupational safety and health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
From page 22...
... Quality public health surveillance efforts rely on consistent and systematic application of methods over time. Gathering data is of little value if those data are not analyzed and interpreted to produce information and understanding that is promptly disseminated to those in a position to take action.
From page 23...
... Thus, in public health and occupational health settings, the term surveillance is generally free of the negative connotations associated with government intrusion into the private lives of individuals. Concerns about privacy and confidentiality in occupational health surveillance are perhaps most pertinent if the information about an employee's health could be used by an employer against the employee.
From page 24...
... Increasingly, however, it is the technology that enables effective and efficient implementation of surveillance processes. The devices themselves play an important role (e.g., sensors, tablet computers, electronic health records, web based information-delivery mechanisms, smartphones, and the like)
From page 25...
... For instance, work at height may be considered a hazard, whereas the exposure would be the proximity of the work to an unguarded leading edge. Similarly, moving heavy objects to an elevated position may constitute a hazard, the exposure would be related to the weight, the frequency and the biomechanical load determined by the lifting task, and presence of mechanical lifting aids.
From page 26...
... As a result, a cost-effective surveillance system might be less comprehensive than an ideal system because the costs of collecting the ideal set of surveillance data might be judged to be prohibitively expensive from a societal perspective. Finally, an efficient system for collecting OSH data may not be effective or cost effective if it targets the collection of data that have only minimal impact on improving worker safety and health outcomes.
From page 27...
... OSH surveillance activities outside the United States are summarized in Chapter 5, emphasizing activities that may offer lessons for ongoing work in this country. To address the gaps identified in Chapter 4, Chapter 6 then discusses the promising developments, processes, and technologies that can be used to improve OSH surveillance, including electronic reporting initiatives, electronic health records, the mobilization of workers' compensation systems, and new directions for hazard surveillance.
From page 28...
... 2017b. Civilian labor force participation rate, by age, sex, race, and ethnicity.
From page 29...
... 2012. Public health surveillance in the United States: Evolution and challenges.


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