title: Where occupational health reporting systems go wrong.
abstract: Reporting of occupational illness occurs in two statistical systems maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The first system, the core program established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, provides national data by industry from direct reporting of employers in annual (mail) surveys. The second system, based on worker's compensation records, provides data on the characteristics of injuries and illnesses and the workers involved. Although skin diseases are reported separately in both systems, there is usually insufficient detail to establish etiology precisely. Conceptual and practical problems hamper the building of a substantive occupational illness data base.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011996:Records; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration