Tuesday, June 21, 2016: 5:45 PM
Summit Hall 3, Egan Convention Center
BACKGROUND: The occupational health indicators (OHI) were designed as a step-by-step starting point for state-based occupational health surveillance. However, states need to move beyond the basic indicators in order to implement and provide our stakeholders with information for targeted interventions and policy development. Florida found that expanding on the worker’s compensation (WC) indicators was more complex than other indicators. This presentation will focus on Florida’s experience in moving beyond basic surveillance for work-related amputations. METHODS: Data on work-related amputations were obtained from the Florida Department of WC (2009-2012). Both the lost time claims data which included the first report of injury (FROI) and the medical billings data (e.g., doctors/hospital visits) were provided. Amputations were identified by the ICD-9-CM codes in the medical record or the nature of injury code in the FROI. Descriptive statistics and rates per 100,000 covered workers were calculated. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data were obtained from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (2011-2012). A special abstract of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor, Productivity, and Cost (LPC) Survey was obtained from NIOSH. QCEW and LPC data were linked via NAICS codes to a subset of the WC data. The rates per full-time-equivalent (FTE) and the prevention index (PI) were calculated. RESULTS: In Florida, between 2011 and 2012, there were 1,435 individuals with an identified amputation that lost more than seven days of work-time. The majority of amputations (n=1,078, 75.1%) were identified via the medical record and not the FROI. Males comprised 87.9% (n=1,261) of the cases. Seventy-three percent (n=1,046) of amputations were to the finger. The cause of injury recorded on the FROI for the majority of injuries were machine or machinery (n=216, 15.1%); powered hand tool/appliance (n=208, 14.5%); caught in, under, or between (n=187, 13.0%); and cut, puncture, or scrape (n=147, 13.0%). Counts were highest for Employment Services (n=139, 48.24/100,000 FTE), while rates were highest for Plastic Products Manufacturing (n=23, 112.93/100,000 FTE). The highest PI value (28.5) was tied between these two industries. The second highest PI value (28) was found for the Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors industry. CONCLUSIONS: We found that by only using the OHI, we were severely underestimating the number/rate of amputations with lost time. The QCEW data allowed for a more accurate estimation of the rates by incorporating industry specific worker-hours. Starting with our 2016 winter meeting, we will work with our stakeholders to put these results into action.