Pat Armstrong

Indicating Occupational Health

As part of a five-year international research programme,* we brought together a group of academic and non-academic researchers to examine existing indicators and explore alternatives. We see indicators as a form of health information technology. They are a device for understanding and purposefully changing what is happening, and an incentive structure for altering what is perceived to be happening. Participants were asked to come prepared to use an example of a current indicator to explain how and why it was or was not useful, for which populations and purposes, and at which level of policy-making. On this basis, and after lively debate, we were able to identify problems with current practices and develop a framework for moving forward.