About Worker Health and Safety Surveillance

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 trends on computer

The benefits of surveillance

Image of the word "surveillance" on a blue background with outlines of different workers to represent different industries.
Worker health and safety surveillance data are needed to assess changes in work-related illnesses and injuries.

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.

Close up of a death certificate
Death certificates contain a person's longest-held job information.

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!

Learn more about collecting and using industry and occupation data
Collecting and Using Industry and Occupation Data - NIOSH
Close up of doctor looking at a digital tablet with a stethoscope lying beside the tablet.
How Work Information and Electronic Health Records Works
Including work-related information for patients in electronic health records. 
Cover of the Guidelines for Reporting Occupation and Industry on Death Certificates document
Information for Funeral Directors
We offer guidance for funeral directors to correctly document a decedent's longest-held job.
cover page of the Statistical Brief for the BRFSS industry and occupation optional module.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)
The BRFSS is a good source for worker health and safety surveillance data.
Keep Reading: See also our Tools and Resources page

Current initiatives

The following lists our work-related surveillance activities by category.

image of computer with data. Image by Getty Images
The following activities include data that span multiple industries and occupations.
Absences in the Workplace
Health-related absences from work can help measure the impact of flu outbreaks and pandemics.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)
The BRFSS is a good source for worker health and safety surveillance data.
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a good source for worker health surveillance data.
National Occupational Mortality Surveillance (NOMS)
NOMS focuses on including industry and occupation data in the National Vital Statistics System.

Pesticides being sprayed on a field. Image by Getty Images.
The following activities include data that are specific to certain exposures or jobs.
Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES)
This program monitors work-related lead exposure in the United States.
Agriculture Worker Safety and Health
Agricultural workers are at increased risk for on-the-job injuries and deaths.
About Commercial Fishing Safety
 NIOSH Western States Division (WSD) office in Alaska has conducted studies of fishing safety to red...
Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
To address this occupational hazard, the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Pr...
Long-haul Truck Drivers
Learn about the work-related healthy and safety concerns for long-haul truck drivers.
About Motor Vehicle Safety at Work
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S.
Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance
The Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance program examines over-exposure to pesticides in the wo...

Man at work, wearing a hard hat and using an inhaler. Image by Getty Images.
The following activities include data that are specific to respiratory diseases.
State-Based Occupational Respiratory Disease
Background for state-based data on silicosis and work-related asthma.
State Surveillance for Work-related Asthma
State guidance for surveillance of work-related asthma. 
State Surveillance for Silicosis
State-based surveillance for silicosis.
About Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program
Information about the NIOSH Coal Worker's Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP)

image of a worker compensation claim form. Image by Getty Images.
The following activities include data specific to work-related injuries and fatalities.
About Workers' Compensation Data
This page describes workers' compensation insurance claims and data.
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
Fatalities in Oil and Gas (FOG)
Occupational Hearing Loss Surveillance
Learn about hearing loss statistics and the NIOSH occupational hearing loss surveillance program.
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Content Source:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • "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.