Category: Safety and Health Data
Using Worker Health Charts to Learn About Your Workplace
Jim manages a manufacturing plant that makes office furniture using plywood and other engineered wood products. Their worksite takes worker safety seriously, and is interested to know if the rate of severe injuries they are experiencing is high compared to injuries occurring at other office furniture manufacturing plants. This kind of information may be tricky Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentCapturing Work-related Injuries from Emergency Department Data
Work-related injuries frequently occur, despite the fact that many are preventable. It is critical that we accurately describe and monitor these injuries in order to improve prevention efforts. Because there is no comprehensive data source that captures all work-related injuries, the occupational injury community relies on multiple sources to describe the problem. The occupational supplement Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentUsing Occupation and Industry Information to Better Serve Your Patient Population
Conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes. On average, American workers spend close to half their waking hours at work. As a result, work can have significant impacts on health. As electronic health records (EHRs) are replacing paper medical records in most Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsWorkplace Injury, Illness and Death- How do we know how many?
Workers Memorial Day, April 28, is a day to reflect on how work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths affect American workers, their families and society at large. Each year at this time NIOSH reports on the burden of workplace injury and illness (see MMWR). But how do we know how many workers died or suffered Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsOccupational Exposure Limits – State of the Science
The process of developing and using occupational exposure limits is a cornerstone of industrial hygiene practice, with a history dating back to the 1880s. Occupational exposure limits, known as OELs, have not—until recently—evolved enough to reflect the advances in related sciences of toxicology, risk assessment, and exposure assessment. Much of the pioneering effort to Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsHow to Put Leading Indicators into Practice
The use of leading indicators is a growing hot topic in occupational and environmental health and safety. The Campbell Institute at the National Safety Council has been studying leading indicators for the past two years to help more organizations take advantage of their predictive power. The Institute defines leading indicators as proactive, preventive, and Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsCollecting Data on Worker Hearing Loss: Epidemiology in Action
Epidemiology is the art and science of using data to answer questions about the health of groups. In occupational epidemiology, we use that data to understand how work affects health. This blog entry is part of a series that shares the stories behind the data. Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic health conditions Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsCan Predictive Analytics Help Reduce Workplace Risk?
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” — Niels Bohr Text message to chemical plant manager: Chlorine leak expected on line 2 tomorrow. Inspect and repair. High priority email and automatic call to coal mine superintendent: 83% chance of roof fall on section 4. Evacuate immediately and take corrective actions. Monthly Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsConnecting Occupational Public Health and Patient Care Through Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
This week is Health IT Week which recognizes efforts to improve the quality of healthcare delivery, increase patient safety, decrease medical errors, and strengthen the interaction between patients and healthcare providers via electronic health records (EHR). NIOSH is working to improve occupational safety and health through health information technology. In 2007, NIOSH undertook a seemingly straightforward Read More >
Posted on by 11 CommentsIncluding Work Information in Electronic Health Records
Today’s “Health IT Buzz,” the blog of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), features a blog co-written by Kerry Souza of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Michael Wittie of the ONC. Posted during “Health Center Week”, the blog highlights the Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsA Voice in the Wilderness: Alice Hamilton and the Illinois Survey
Today, on Workers Memorial Day we remember those who died from work-related causes and take stock of what we still need to accomplish to reduce the toll of workplace injury, disease, and death. As we do this, it may be helpful to look back at how far we have come and remember one woman in Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsOccupations with High Obesity Prevalence in Washington State
If work and the workplace contribute to poor health behaviors, should employers attempt to improve those behaviors? It likely is in the employer’s best interest to do so. Poor health behaviors can lead to chronic disease. Workers with chronic disease may be at higher risk for workplace injury, have more absenteeism, and diminished productivity Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsUsing Workers’ Compensation Records for Safety and Health Research
Workers’ compensation insurance has been established in all states to provide income protection, medical treatment, and rehabilitation for employees who are injured or become ill as a result of work. Workers’ compensation claims and medical treatment records along with other information resources have been used to conduct occupational safety and health research and surveillance and Read More >
Posted on by 68 CommentsWhat’s Next for the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods
Many products essential to daily life are produced using chemicals that can endanger human health unless properly controlled. While the end product may be safe for the consumer, the workers who manufacture the product may be occupationally exposed to the chemical ingredients more directly or at higher concentrations than the consumer who uses the Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsHow Does Work Affect the Health of the U.S. Population? Free Data from the 2010 NHIS-OHS Provides the Answers
You may have some hypotheses about how work affects the health of the U.S. population, but collecting data from a nationally representative sample is expensive and time-consuming. What if there was free data available at your fingertips? You’re in luck! NIOSH sponsored an Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Read More >
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