Data needs for occupational epidemiologic studies

Data needs in an epidemiologic study can appear to be substantial in light of the other responsibilities of an industrial hygienist. Many of the data needed for this type of investigation, however, are already collected for o ther exposure assessment purposes. To increase understanding of this concep t, the data needs for the major purposes for conducting an exposure assessm ent are identified. The purposes include determining compliance; implementi ng industrial hygiene programs, such as personal protective and respiratory equipment, hazard communication training, and medical surveillance; invest igating health complaints and worker concerns;investigating tasks or engine ering control effectiveness; investigating toxic tort or worker compensatio n claims; and conducting epidemiologic studies. A comprehensive exposure as sessment system is then described that incorporates the data needs for all these purposes, including epidemiologic studies. The data needs of epidemio logic studies and how the data are used are then described and illustrated with examples taken from published epidemiologic studies.