How can the CSTE Occupational Health Workgroup Improve the Use of State Workers Compensation Data for Occupational Injury and Illness Surveillance?

Brief Summary
Workers compensation (WC) data are administrative data generally used for purposes other than public health surveillance. Using workers compensation data for state-based surveillance has been particularly vexing due to the perceived unique nature of each state’s laws, rules, and administrative policies that govern the content and availability of the workers’ compensation data. The purpose of this roundtable is to plan and develop a CSTE workgroup on improving the use of WC data for state-based surveillance activities. First, we intend to define the workgroup’s purpose and subsequently determine what approach might best fit the needs of state-based occupational health surveillance programs. Two preliminary constructs for this workgroup will be discussed: a)      Advisory Panel – this construct would involve assembly of ‘experts’ from the current pool of state OH surveillance workgroup members to serve as an advisory panel to assist on individual state projects.  The advisory panel would supplement with experts from organizations with specialized workers’ compensation experience (e.g. IAIBC, NASI, NCCI). b)      Training and Education Workgroup – as a workgroup this panel would address the needs of state-based surveillance activities by developing and disseminating educational and training materials related to the use of workers compensation data.   The advantages and disadvantages of the above two workgroup constructs will be discussed. Any additional proposals for workgroup formation will be considered and discussed.