Design of a state-based workers' compensation information system

Use of a national reporting system for occupational injuries in Costa Rica

Occupational injury surveillance in developing countries may be hindered by the lack of health data infrastructure as well the large numbers of informal-sector workers. The goal of this study was to elucidate the scope of occupational injury in the Monteverde district of Costa Rica using data collected through the national workers social security system. A list of occupational injuries occurring in the district reported to the National Insurance Institute (INS) central office between 1998 and 2002 was taken to the regional INS office, and the original injury reports for the cases were pulled. Specific data on the injuries were collected. There were 184 injuries reported during the five year period. Occupations with the highest number of injuries included production, building and grounds maintenance, and agricultural/forestry/fishing. Descriptive data showed that prevention efforts in this rural region should target food manufacturing, hotels, and construction.

Occupational injury surveillance among electric utility employees

Currently, there are only limited injury surveillance data for the electric utility workforce. To address this gap, an Occupational Health Surveillance Database for electric power utilities was established for epidemiologic monitoring and intervention program evaluation. Injury rates varied across utility occupations, such as, managers, line workers, and meter readers, ranging from 0.18 to 9.63 per 100 employee-years based on more than 500,000 employee-years of observation. Compared with male workers, the risk of injury among female workers was lower overall, although their risk was higher in nonoffice occupations than their male counterparts. Across the period 2000 to 2002, three of four companies that experienced decreases in workforce size also experienced noticeable increases in injury rates. Our results suggest that benchmarking and prevention efforts should be directed at specific occupational groups and specific injury types.