research into the completeness of the survey of occupational injuries and illnesses william...
TRANSCRIPT
Research into the Completeness of the Survey of Occupational Injuries and
Illnesses
William WiatrowskiBureau of Labor Statistics
June 10, 2013
Today’s Roadmap
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Bureau of Labor Statistics
Statistical arm of US Department of Labor Employment and
unemployment Consumer and
producer prices Wages, benefits Productivity Workplace safety
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Early workplacesafety data
BLS worker injury data Since early 1900s
Voluntary employer reporting
Concerns about compliance
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Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
Department of Labor to provide statistics Mandatory employer
reporting
Survey of
Occupational Injuries
and Illnesses (SOII)
-- counts and rates
by industry and
state5
Concerns – 1980s
Lack of consistent national data on workers involved and circumstances of injury
Fatal work injuries not easily captured through sample survey
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1990s expansion
Case and demographic details For cases with
days away from work
Census of fatal occupational injuries
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Concerns – 2000s
Research studies Comparisons with
workers’ compensation
Rosenman, Boden/Ozonoff
SOII captures 32-75 percent of cases
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Congressional Action
Hearings Research funding
BLS Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
GAO study9
BLS research
Confirm undercount
Identify sources of undercount
Measure undercount
Fix undercount
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Today’s Roadmap
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What is the SOII? Establishment
survey OSHA-recordable
cases Includes
employers not otherwise required to keep records
Collected soon after end of the year
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SOII output “Summary” data
-- counts and rates By detailed
industry By state By case type
– Days away– Restricted work– Other
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Rate per 100 full-time equivalent workers
SOII output “Case and
demographic” data About the worker
– Occupation– Age, sex, race
About the case– Type of injury– Event, source
Days away from work cases
Pilot study of restricted work cases
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Unique aspects of the SOII
Definitions come from OSHA
Consistent data across states
Worker injuries and illnesses are infrequent events Rate 3.5 cases per
100 full-time equivalent workers
Many employers report zero cases
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Known limitations of SOII
Limited data on workplace illnesses
No data for Federal government, small farms, self-employed
Details only for cases with days away from work
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Possible limitationsof SOII
Undercount? Cases reported
elsewhere but not in SOII
Cases reported neither in SOII nor in other systems
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Defining the undercount
Total public burden undercount
SOII undercount
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Filters Event occurs
Worker perceives injury Worker acknowledges
work-related Desirable to report? Reports
Supervisor Injury is legitimate Injury is work-related Meets OSHA definitions Allows time off or
restricted duty Records injury on OSHA
log Employer in BLS
sample Injury transferred to
SOII 19
Today’s Roadmap
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BLS undercount research – 2009-2012
Matching SOII and workers’ compensation data
Multisource enumeration
Employer interviews
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SOII-WC matching
Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data Days away
Beyond WC waiting period
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SOII-WC matching
Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data Days away
Beyond WC waiting period
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SOII-WC matching
Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data Days away
Beyond WC waiting period
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SOII-WC matching
Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data Days away
Beyond WC waiting period
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SOII-WC matching
Compare SOII case data to workers’ compensation data Days away
Beyond WC waiting period
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SOII-WC matching
Three additional states
Matching issues Employer
identification Time of event Consistent coding
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Results
SOII appears to capture everything on the OSHA log
Evidence of undercount 40%-70% SOII capture rate Varies by method, state Possible bias
Types of cases more likely to be missed by SOII Ex: late year cases
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Multisource enumeration
Beyond SOII and WC
Identify all cases, not just OSHA recordable
Data from emergency department visits, hospital discharges, others
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Results
Sources lack “work” information Work v medical Data sources inconsistent across
states Value in multisource for State-
based surveillance and topical research
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Employer interviews
SOII respondents – variation by size, industry
Explore reasons for differences in OSHA logs, SOII, and State WC claims
Loosely structured questionnaire, in person visits
Qualitative details; not statistical sample
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Results
Employer confusion, training
Differences in SOII and WC reporting
Treatment of temp help workers
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Today’s Roadmap
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Consensus recommendations
Work with OSHA to enhance recordkeeping Improve training
Future research Undercount over
time Variations by
state, industry Employer
attributes and practices
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Consensus recommendations
Improve coding consistency of SOII
Expand SOII data collection Ex: union status
Supplement SOII Household data
Publicize research efforts and results
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New round of research
Expanded interviews – 4 states Generalizable data
on employer practices
Match WC-SOII for 12 years
Pilot test auto-coding Improve consistency
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Other SOII enhancements
Publish hospitalization data On OSHA log;
reviewing data quality
Expand data for cases of job transfer/restriction First test results
published April 2013 More to come
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Communications
Presentations CSTE National Safety
Council APHA
Publish research results
Expand BLS website Articles FAQs More
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Future efforts
Expand auto-coding
Follow-back studies
Work with OSHA to improve employer understanding
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Contact Information
William Wiatrowski
Occupational Safety and Health Statisticswww.bls.gov/iif202-691-6300