Occupational Injury and Illness (OII) Statistics

Accessibility of Occupation-related Injury and Illness Data

Information about injuries, illnesses, and hazards in Alaska industries is departmentalized; current systems are fragmented and provide little information about circumstances leading up to and culminating in a severe or fatal incident. Specific information is difficult to tease out of large publications with multiple data charts and tables. Raw unidentified data may need to be analyzed to determine it usability and usefulness.

Using existing data systems, a base level of occupational safety and health surveillance for population-based surveillance is possible. Based on the availability of raw and summary data, the 13 health indicators as defined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) could be gathered to discern the magnitude, trend, and distribution of occupational health conditions. Since the original 13 Occupational Health Indicators (OHI) were developed, CSTE had expanded the base-level of surveillance needed and provided guidance for 11 additional indicators. Additional information on data collection and analysis for OHI can be accessed at CSTE Occupational Health: Indicators.

The table below provides a summary of the Alaska’s OHI primary and secondary data sources and a state-level profile of employment demographics.

Data Sources for Occupational Health Indicators

Occupational Health Indicator	Primary Data Source	Secondary Data Sources
Non-fatal work-related injuries and illnesses reported by employers	AK DOLWD-SOII¹	BLS²
Work-related hospitalizations	ATR³	HFDR⁴
Fatal work-related injuries	AK FACE⁵	CFOI⁶
Work-related amputations with days away from work reported by employer	AK DOLWD-SOII	BLS
Amputations filed with state workers’ compensation system	AK DOLWD-WC⁷	BLS
Hospitalization for work-related burns	ATR	HFDR
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders with days away from work reported by employer	AK DOLWD-SOII	BLS
Carpal tunnel syndrome cases filed with the state workers’ compensation system	AK DOLWD-WC	BLS
Hospitalization from or with pneumoconiosis	ATR	HFDR
Mortality from or with pneumoconiosis	AK BVS⁸
Acute work-related pesticide-associated illness and injury reported to poison control center	AAPCC⁹	AK DOLWD ATR
Incidence of malignant mesothelioma	AKDHSS-CR¹⁰
Elevated blood lead level among adults	ABLE¹¹
Workers employed in Industries with high risk for occupational morbidity	U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns
Workers employed in occupations with high risk for occupational morbidity	BLS Current Population Survey
Workers employed in industries and occupations with high risk for occupational mortality	BLS Current Population Survey
Occupational safety and health professionals	NIOSH¹²
Occupational safety and health administration enforcement activities	OSHA¹³	NIOSH
Workers’ compensation awards	NASI¹⁴
Hospitalization for low-back disorders	Not Available
Occupational asthma	Not Available
Severe traumatic injury hospitalizations	Not Available
Influenza vaccination rate among healthcare providers	NHSN¹⁵
Occupational heat-related ED visits	HFDR

¹Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development – Survey of Occupation Injuries and Illness

²U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

³Alaska Trauma Registry (from all acute care facilities)

⁴Alaska Health Facility Data Reporting (from acute care facilities except DOD facilities)

⁵Alaska Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation

⁶Alaska Census of Fatal Occupational Injury

⁷Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development – Workers’ Compensation

⁸Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records Section

⁹American Association of Poison Control Centers

¹⁰Alaska Cancer Registry

¹¹Alaska Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance

¹¹Alaska Violent Death Reporting System

¹²National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health

¹³Occupational Safety and Health Administration

¹⁴National Academy of Social Insurance

¹⁵National Healthcare Safety Network