Georgia Occupational Health Surveillance Report, 2008–2012

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bayakly R ; Benson A ; Lavender A
• Description:
  More than four million people aged 16 years and older make up Georgia's workforce. Almost half of a worker's lifetime is spent at work or commuting, which makes the workplace an important determinant of a person's health. Social factors, workplace procedures and design, chemical exposures, and chronic wear and tear are all facets of the workplace that may negatively impact workers' health. Some workers are employed in occupations or industries that may put them at higher risk of work-related injuries or illnesses or being exposed to harmful substances. These injuries, illnesses, and exposures on the job can affect workers' health for the rest of their lives. Thus, the workplace provides unique opportunities for public health interventions. Work-related injuries and illnesses can be prevented, especially by controlling occupational hazards and exposures. Resource allocation for prevention can be prioritized by focusing on industries and occupations that are at high risk for injury and illness. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), in association with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has recommended that states conduct surveillance for a set of 22 occupational health indicators. These indicators serve as baseline measures of the occupational health status of a state's workforce and allows states to track trends and guide prevention and intervention efforts. Each indicator falls under one of the five categories below: Health Effect Indicators (15)--measures of injury or illness that indicate adverse effects from exposure to known or suspected occupational hazards; Exposure Indicator (1)--measures of markers in human tissue or fluid that identify the presence of a potentially harmful substance resulting from exposure in the workplace; Hazard Indicators (3)--measures of potential for worker exposure to health and safety hazards in the workplace; Intervention Indicators (2)--measures of intervention activities or intervention capacity to reduce workplace health and safety hazards; Socioeconomic Impact Indicator (1)--measure of the economic impact of work-related injuries and illnesses. Georgia has also elected to conduct surveillance for two state-specific occupational health indicators. These include arthritis among workers and workplace secondhand smoke exposure. A variety of sources were used to collect data for the 2008-2012 occupational health indicators in Georgia. Due to limitations of the sources, most of the data provided are believed to be underestimates. The exact methods by which the indicators were calculated can be found in CSTE's guidance document entitled, Occupational Health Indicators: A Guide for Tracking Occupational Health Conditions and Their Determinants (at www.cste.org). While decreases were noted for most of the injuries and illnesses reported during 2008-2012 in Georgia, it is uncertain whether these decreases were due to declines in employment observed in the state. The percent of unemployment in Georgia increased from 6.4% in 2008 to 9.1% in 2012, though down from a peak of 10.7% in 2010. The data provided in this report estimates the burden of work-related injuries and illnesses and gives baseline measures of occupational health in Georgia during 2008-2012. At the time of this report, 2012 was the most current year of data available for many of the data sources used. The information in this report can be used to identify contributory factors and develop improved or new prevention strategies and regulations to protect the health of Georgia's workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Morbidity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Injuries Morbidity Rates Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Programs Statistical Analysis Surveillance Programs Worker Health
• Publisher:
  Georgia Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-53
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054340
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: Georgia Department of Public Health, 2015 Jul; :1-53
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Georgia State Department of Public Health, Atlanta
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150701
• Source Full Name:
  Georgia occupational health surveillance report, 2008-2012
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:317082bfb079a0fc42985dc792e10d53168c60bf4e5a3e1a4e39662e242f4dabc608918c6148cfe6f42be81232daca8610d4abad533ff79799e14cfe58135496
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216926/cdc_216926_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.11 MB ]