title: Gathering Occupational Health Data from Informal Workers: The Brazilian Experience.
abstract: This study describes how occupational health data have been gathered by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) to provide morbidity and mortality estimates for formal and informal workers. In 2007, data on work-related diseases and injuries was incorporated into the compulsory notification system (SINAN) and analyzed by the SUS occupational health service network, which covers all Brazilian states. However, this work has not been fully implemented, resulting in the large-scale undercounting and underreporting of cases, particularly in relation to informal workers. This is suggestive of barriers that prevent access to services and good quality health care. The inclusion of work-related diseases and injuries in SINANs appears to be a feasible strategy for the collection of useful data for the surveillance of the entire universe of workers, particularly in countries where informal workers prevail within the labor force. Attention needs to be paid to the disparities in access and quality that affect low-paid, informal workers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Collective Health, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil vilma_santana50@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Vilma Sousa
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.affiliation: Institute of Collective Health, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrite
authors.affiliation: Institute of Collective Health, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galdino
authors.affiliation: Institute of Collective Health, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Cláudia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Peres Moura
authors.affiliation: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge Mesquita Huet
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D004651:Employment; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: compulsory notification systems; health information systems; health surveillance; informal workers; occupational health