Key points
- Worker health and safety surveillance examines changes in work-related injuries, illnesses, and exposures, over time.
- At NIOSH, we assess trends by job and industry to monitor current concerns and identify emerging issues.
- We offer tools and guidance for state health departments and other researchers to improve their surveillance activities.
![woman looking at data Woman looking at data trends on computer](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages-1267191124.jpg)
The benefits of surveillance
![surveillance Image of the word "surveillance" on a blue background with outlines of different workers to represent different industries.](/niosh/media/images/banner_2.jpg)
We use a variety of data sources to identify emerging trends and monitor current issues.
Worker health and injury surveillance data guide interventions. For example, using personal protective equipment to limit workplace exposures. By examining trends, we gauge whether an intervention is working to reduce an illness, injury, or exposure.
Likewise, surveillance data can measure the effectiveness of a prevention program or activity.
Our surveillance research activities lead to epidemiological studies to better understand the risk of a work-related exposure.
About surveillance data
Federal, State, and private industry partners regularly collect and provide us with the data we use in our surveillance studies. These data are unique because they provide current information about injuries and illnesses occurring among workers in different jobs and industries.
With these data, we are able to monitor recent trends in work-related injuries, illnesses, hazards, deaths, and exposures.
Sources of work-related surveillance data
Data used in public health surveillance efforts are collected in an ongoing, systematic way.
![Death certificate Close up of a death certificate](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages466211817_2.jpg)
Some examples of data sources include:
- Death certificates
- National surveys
- Case reports of infectious diseases and exposures
- Hospital discharge data
- Disease registry data
- Workers' compensation data
- Ongoing studies
Industry and occupation data
The following resources offer information about industry and occupation data and offer tips to collect and use different surveillance data sources.
Did you know?
Industry and occupation descriptive text are often collected on surveys, death certificates, and medical records. These descriptions need to be converted into a numeric code so that researchers can analyze the data.
Use our free web application to convert industry and occupation text into standardized codes!
Current initiatives
The following lists our work-related surveillance activities by category.
![data image of computer with data. Image by Getty Images](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages-466548184.jpg)
![pesticides spraying Pesticides being sprayed on a field. Image by Getty Images.](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages-907966126.jpg)
![worker inhaler Man at work, wearing a hard hat and using an inhaler. Image by Getty Images.](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages-1766495070.jpg)
![worker compensation image of a worker compensation claim form. Image by Getty Images.](/niosh/media/images/GettyImages-1443304513.jpg)
- "Employed" is defined as being employed for wages, self-employed, or out of work for less than one year at the time of their interview.
- Note: the sample size varies by year and which states participate.