Establishment of the New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program (NH OHSP)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Armenti KR
• Description:
  The NH OHSP was established as a new surveillance program within NH Division of Public Health Services. Existing data sets were explored and new data sets were developed to meet the NIOSH-CSTE (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists) parameters of occupational health surveillance. Two significant studies conducted in 2008 and 2015 used questions added to the NH BRFSS about work-related injury and payer source. In both studies, we found that nearly 50% of survey respondents who were injured at work seriously enough to warrant medical attention, did not utilize the workers' compensation insurance system to pay for their medical care. Our results were comparable to the results of a 2007 study of 10 states where the proportion of self-reported work-injured persons for whom medical treatment was paid by workers' compensation ranged from 47% to 77% (median 61%). Data from the most recent study was considered in the Final Report of the Commission to Recommend Reforms to Reduce Workers' Compensation Costs in New Hampshire. As a result, the Commission recommended legislation to provide authorization for the NH Insurance Department to develop a database of workers' compensation claims in the State All Payer Claims Database, filling a critical gap in occupational injury and illness surveillance systems. Another significant finding from our surveillance efforts resulted from a study of NH immigrant workers about their working conditions and knowledge of workers' compensation. Of the 229 immigrants surveyed who worked or had worked in the U.S., 62% reported they had no knowledge of workers' compensation insurance should they be injured as part of their job. As a result of our immigrant survey study, the NH Coalition of Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) focused its training to new immigrants participating in the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) program on worker rights and access to workers' compensation insurance when injured on the job. As a result of our collaboration with the Healthy Homes program, our Asthma and Cleaning Products fact sheet was translated into four languages and adopted into the electronic medical record system of a large community health center, where many of our immigrant population are cared for. A new salon safety fact sheet was shared with the NH Board of Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetics and used in training sessions for two major beauty schools in the state. Findings from our in-depth studies can be used to guide future investigation, surveillance, and intervention activities or improvements in workplace safety programs. While there is not necessarily direct adoption of NH OHSP findings in the workplace, the information and data produced is critical when informing prevention strategies and promoting policy changes to better protect workers overall. A more educated stakeholder population is more successful in implementing prevention strategies and effecting policy change. Without NIOSH funding to build and sustain the NH OHSP, there would be little recognition for the importance of data to guide and inform actions by our key stakeholders in better protecting workers from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Public Health Race Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Injuries Public Health Racial Factors Sociological Factors Surveillance Programs Work Environment Worker Health Workers Workers Compensation
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Hampshire ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049746
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2017-102231
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U60-OH-009853, 2015, Oct; :1-13
• Contact Point Address:
  Karla R. Armenti, ScD, Principal Investigator, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Bureau of Public Health Statistics & Informatics, Division of Public Health Services, NH Department of Health and Human Services, 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301
• Email:
  karmenti@dhhs.state.nh.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  New Hampshire State Department of Health Statistics and Data Management
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c2282f4255011d705e7800f1bbb7e1879020e2b8b64549b7f87341c47b86c0a629a4033e38697e522a8b8c6097faca89bcaaed92bd5efe8c69bd6f04ca6b0f0d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218662/cdc_218662_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 157.77 KB ]