Worker Health and Safety Surveillance

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. 
Image of bar chart. Image by NIOSH.

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.
image of missing construction worker hat, indicating a missing worker.

Absences in the Workplace

Health-related absences from work can help measure the impact of flu outbreaks and pandemics. 
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.
The NHIS data can be used to assess worker health across all industries.

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.
Female researcher assessing data using a computer.

Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES)

This program monitors work-related lead exposure in the United States. 

Agricultural Safety

Commercial Fishing Safety

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

Long-haul truck drivers are essential to the transportation of goods in the United States, but the d...
Driver hands on steering wheel

About Motor Vehicle Safety at Work

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S.
Tractor spraying pesticides on vegetable field with sprayer at spring. Photo by fotokostic/GettyImages

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

State Surveillance for Work-related Asthma

State guidance for surveillance of work-related asthma. 

State Surveillance for Silicosis

State-based surveillance for silicosis.
Two coal miners sitting in underground mine.

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.
Illustrated image with the words workers' compensation surrounded by icons representing different industries and types of work.

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)

image of computer with data

Surveillance and Statistics

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.