Nancy Stout

Adolescent occupational injuries requiring hospital emergency department treatment: a nationally representative sample.

Data from a nationally representative sample of emergency departments for the 6-month period July through December 1992 were used to examine nonfatal occupational injuries sustained by adolescents aged 14 through 17 years. There were 679 occupational injuries, corresponding to an estimated 37,405 injuries nationwide. Males constituted 65.8% of the injury victims. The injury rate for males was 7.0 per 100 full-time employees, compared with 4.4 for females. Lacerations to the hand or finger accounted for 25.6% of all injuries. The majority of injuries occurred in retail trades (53.7%), which also had the highest rate (6.3 per 100 full-time employees). Seventy-one percent of the injuries in retail trade occurred in eating and drinking establishments.

Three perspectives on work-related injury surveillance systems.

This paper reviews surveillance approaches for occupational injuries and evaluates three emerging methodologies for the enhancement of work-related injury surveillance: (1) narrative data analysis, (2) data set linkage, and (3) comprehensive company-wide surveillance systems. All three methods are the result of new applications of computer hardware and software that have apparent strengths and limitations. A major strength is the improved description of work exposures and related injuries leading to better understanding of injury etiology. This understanding, however, is limited by the data quality and completeness entered on records at the time of the injury. We recommend (1) more widespread inclusion of narrative text in databases, analyses of which can be a valuable supplement to injury coded data; (2) the increased use of data set linkage studies to combine injury and work-history data; and (3) the development of comprehensive company-wide surveillance systems to expedite the use of epidemiologic data for occupational injury prevention activities. Further development of these methods and others is encouraged, especially in light of technological advancements in data capture, analysis and presentation. Only through such efforts can we best apply epidemiologic principles to preventing injuries in the workplace.

Traumatic occupational fatalities in the U.S. and Australian construction industries

The occupational injury experience of the U.S. and Australian construction industries for 1988-1991 was compared to identify similarities and differences in risk and to share information vital for planning strategies for prevention. There were 4,158 deaths in the U.S. and 264 in the Australian construction industries. Workers in both countries, particularly laborers, were at high risk, with mean annual rates of 13.8/100,000 and 11.6, respectively, more than double the national averages. Falls, motor vehicles, electrocutions, and machinery were the leading causes of death in both countries, and accounted for 69% of the fatalities in the U.S. and 71% in Australia. International collaborations focusing injury and fatality prevention efforts on the common leading causes and high risk groups, and sharing successful prevention experiences between countries could save the lives of many construction workers world wide.

Risk differences in fatal occupational injuries among construction laborers in the United States, 1980-1992.

Over 3700 occupational fatalities among all US construction laborers 16 years of age and older during 1980-1992 were analyzed from death certificates to identify differences in mortality rates, higher risk groups, and leading causes of death to be targeted for prevention and monitored over time. Female laborers had an average fatality rate (17.4 deaths/100,000 workers) similar to that for all male construction workers (17.3 deaths/100,000 workers), and ten times higher than for all female construction workers. On average, nonwhite laborers had 27% greater mortality than white laborers. Women were at a higher risk (10.8 deaths/100,000 workers) for motor vehicle injury than were men (6.1 deaths/100,000 workers). The smallest percentage annual decline in cause-specific mortality rates was from motor vehicle for construction laborers (0.1%) and all construction workers (1.4%). Environmental-related fatality rates for laborers rose an average of 0.8% annually. The average years of potential life lost (to age 65) ranged from 27.4 years from explosion to 34.3 years from electrocution. Prevention measures aimed at addressing the highest risk areas, along with research needs, are discussed. With over a quarter of construction fatalities occurring among laborers, occupational injury research on laborers should become a priority.

Comparison of work-related fatality surveillance in the U.S.A. and Australia

Abstract Stout, N., Frommer, M.S. and Harrison, J.E., 1990. Comparison of work-related fatality surveillance in the U.S.A. and Australia. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 13: 195–211. Recently conducted studies of traumatic work-related fatalities in the U.S.A. and Australia were compared and analyzed in order to identify ways of improving the quality and utility of fatal occupational injury surveillance data at national level. Methodological differences between the two studies are examined, and comparative data are presented. Despite differences in data acquisition methods and in the structure of the labor and work environment, the results of the two studies were remarkably similar. The mean annual rates of fatal injury while working, for persons in the employed civilian labor force during the period 1982–1984, were 5.9 100 000 in the U.S.A. and 6.7 100 000 in Australia. Because the U.S. data collection method is likely to have underestimated the occurrence of work-related fatalities, the difference between U.S. and Australian rates is probably over-estimated by these figures. The fatality rates for age, sex and employment groups were also similar. Considerations necessary for meaningful comparison of surveillance data from different sources are discussed.

Occupational injury prevention research in NIOSH

This paper provided a brief summary of the current strategic goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) occupational injury research program. Three primary drivers (injury database, stakeholder input, and staff capacity) were used to define NIOSH research focuses to maximize relevance and impact of the NIOSH injury-prevention-research program. Injury data, strategic goals, program activities, and research impacts were presented with a focus on prevention of four leading causes of workplace injury and death in the US: motor vehicle incidents, falls, workplace violence, and machine and industrial vehicle incidents. This paper showcased selected priority goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH injury prevention program. The NIOSH contribution to the overall decrease in fatalities and injuries is reinforced by decreases in specific goal areas. There were also many intermediate outcomes that are on a direct path to preventing injuries, such as new safety regulations and standards, safer technology and products, and improved worker safety training. The outcomes serve as an excellent foundation to stimulate further research and worldwide partnership to address global workplace injury problems.

Traumatic fatalities at work. american indians and alaska natives, 1980 through 1988

To define the rates and characteristics of fatal occupational injuries among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in the United States, we examined death certificates included in the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities data base for deaths occurring from 1980 to 1988. Two hundred and seventy-four work-related deaths among AI/AN civilians (259 men, 15 women) were identified. In 1980, the fatality rate among employed AI/AN was 5.5/100,000 workers compared with 7.7/100,000 workers for the United States. Ninety percent of the AI/AN deaths were from unintentional injury, 6% from homicide, and 3% from suicide. The pattern of fatal occupational injuries among AI/AN differs from that for all races combined, especially with regard to the larger percent of AI/AN fatalities in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry and the high proportion of water transportation incidents.

Occupational Injury Risk Assessment: Perspective and Introduction to the First Special Issue

Linda Rosenstock1,3 and Nancy Stout2,* 1 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 715-H, 200 Independence SW, Washington, DC 20201; 2National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Safety Research, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505; 3Current address: School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA