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A review of databases that record occupational injuries and illnesses among American workers described the strengths and weaknesses of six systems: the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) database, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), The BLS Annual Survey (BLS Survey), a large workers' compensation database (WCP), the National Council on Compensation Insurance data (NCCI), and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEIS). The NTOF system which is operated by NIOSH takes data from death certificates in the 50 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia. The NTOF data are used by the NIOSH Division of Safety Research in epidemiological studies of work related fatalities. Representative data recorded in the NTOF system for the period 1980 through 1989 indicated that the three leading causes of occupational fatal injury in descending order were motor vehicle accidents, machinery related accidents, and homicides. The CFOI collects data on fatal occupational injuries through federal and state injuries. Unlike NTOF, it also captures some fatal illnesses, such as heart attacks, that occur at work. The three major causes of fatal occupational injury in 1992 indicated by CFOI in descending order were transportation accidents, assaults and violent acts, and contacts with objects and injuries. The BLS Survey, NICC, and WCP are large descriptive systems. The BLS Survey collects data annually from OSHA 200 logs and the NCCI collects, processes, and analyzes data from private workers' compensation insurance providers in 13 states. NEISS which is funded by the Consumer Products Safety Commission collects information on consumer product related injuries recorded in 60 hospital emergency rooms. From 1982 through 1986, NEISS also collected data on cases that were work related. Examples of data collected by the BLS Survey, NCII, WCP, and NEISS systems in 1990 were discussed.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 30(2):130-141, 1996. (29 references)
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