Sources of Data and Occupational Health

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Sources of Data and Occupational Health
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Occupational Epidemiology

• Occupational health is concerned with
• Diseases/illnesses that are unequivocally linked
  to work
• Diseases of multifactorial aetiology in which
  occupational factors are involved
• coal workers pneumoconiosis
• asbestosis and mesothelioma
• noise induced hearing loss

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Surveillance

• Identification of diseases known to be associated
  with working in particular industries
• Identification of particular hazards likely to
  cause illness
• Measures incidence and changes
• Tracks changes in occurrence and risk factors
• Evaluates existing control measures
• Identify emergence of new issues

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Screening/Monitoring

• Pre-employment
• Physical and mental ability
• ID more vulnerable to certain exposures
• Baseline data
• Periodic
• Evaluation of preventive measures
• ID those showing susceptibility of exposures

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Screening/Monitoring

• Screening
• Early detection of changes
• EG chest x-rays, physical exams, questionnaires,
  lab tests
• Biological Monitoring
• Eg blood for lead levels
• Adipose tissue for PCBs
• Environmental Monitoring
• Aim to limit exposure to levels
• OELs
• Eg noise, chemicals, radiation

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Data Sources

• Insurance data
• Workers compensations claims (IIS)
• Benefits payments
• Absenteeism data
• GP records, hospital records
• Medical screening questionnaires
• Spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, birth size,
  congenital malformation and infant mortality

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Data Sources

• British Crime Survey violence at work
• Industrial disease and compensation registers
• Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (CHaPD)
• Routine morbidity and mortality data
• Death certificates
• ONS Longitudinal Survey
• Demographic data
• Census, General Household Survey, National Labour
  Force Survey

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Data Sources

• Stress and Health at Work household survey 1998
• Medical Research Council studies 1997/8 work
  related deafness and vibration white finger
• Blood Lead annual stats
• THOR voluntary medical surveillance schemes in
  The Health and Occupation Reporting network
• 1999 work related mental ill health
• 1998 hearing loss, musculoskeletal disorders and
  infections
• Early 1990s respiratory and skin disorders
• Accident data (HSE via ICC) - RIDDOR

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Reporting - Legislation

• RIDDOR '95 means the Reporting of Injuries,
  Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
  1995, which came into force on 1 April 1996
• RIDDOR '95 requires the reporting of work-related
  accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It
  applies to all work activities, but not to all
  incidents
• http//www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse31.pdf

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Reporting What?

• . deaths
• major injuries eg loss of sight, amputation,
  certain fractures
• accidents resulting in over 3 day injury
• dangerous occurrences eg collapse of lifts
• . gas incidents
• diseases

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Examples of reportable diseases

• Pneumoconiosis
• Occupational asthma eg bakers
• Cancers eg bladder from dyes in clothing industry
• Dermatitis eg hairdressers, florists
• Poisoning eg lead in crystal cutters
• Anthrax
• Farmers lung
• Mesothelioma

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Asbestosis and Mesothelioma
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Some Statistics (Taken from Health and Safety
Statistics 2005/6 HSE)

• Ill health
• 2.0 million people were suffering from an illness
  they believed was caused or made worse by their
  current or past work
• 523 000 of these were new cases in the last 12
  months
• 1969 people died of mesothelioma (2004), and
  thousands more from other occupational cancers
  and lung diseases
• Injuries
• 212 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.7
  per 100 000 workers
• 146 076 other injuries to employees were reported
  under RIDDOR, a rate of 562.4 per 100 000
  employees
• 328 000 reportable injuries occurred, according
  to the Labour Force Survey, a rate of 1200 per
  100 000 workers (2004/05)
• Working days lost
• 30 million days were lost overall (1.3 days per
  worker), 24 million due to work-related ill
  health and 6 million due to workplace injury

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Enforcement - EHPs

• retail or wholesale
• offices
• warehousing
• hotel and catering
• sports or leisure
• residential accommodation, excluding nursing
  homes
• places of worship
• pre-school child care
• mobile vending

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Some Data - 2004/5

• Enforcement
• 1012 offences were prosecuted by HSE
• 332 offences were prosecuted by local authorities
  

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Prevalence self reported work related illness
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Work related illness
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Hospital specialists and THOR data
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Revitalising Health and SafetyJune 2000

• http//www.hse.gov.uk/revitalising/strategy.pdf
• Agriculture
• Construction
• Health Services
• Falls from height
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Work related stress
• Slips and Trips
• Workplace Transport
• Government setting an example

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Revitalising Targets

• 20 reduction in rate of work related ill health
• 10 reduction in rate of fatalities and major
  injuries
• 30 reduction in rate of working days lost
• These are to be achieved by 2010 and half-way
  improvement targets to be reached by 2004

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New Strategy

• Strategy for workplace health and safety in GB to
  2010 and beyond (Feb 2004)
• http//www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/hsc/strategy2010.pdf
  
• LAs and HSE Working Together
• the aim of which is to make them collectively
  more effective in improving health and safety -
  reducing the incidence of injuries and ill health
  in the workplaces for which they are responsible

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