ESTABLISHING GUIDELINES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES - A SYSTEMATIC APPRAISAL

The workplace is a significant contributor to injuries and injury fata lities in the United States. Unfortunately, the systems in place for c ollecting and coding injury data suffer from a number of limitations t hat make it difficult, if not impossible, to enumerate accurately the true scope and import of occupational injuries and injury fatalities. At present, there are no nationally agreed upon standards for defining , reporting, and recording occupational (and nonoccupational) injuries . This article examines and evaluates the major surveillance systems f or the collection and recording of data on occupational injuries and i njury fatalities and presents guidelines for establishing a model syst em of occupational injury surveillance. These guidelines should be val uable in designing a national data system that can measure the impact and effectiveness of injury prevention and control programs in the Uni ted States.