Working With Risk: Improving Collection of Industry and Occupation Data During Public Health Surveillance Case...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Health Surveillance
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Occupational health surveillance historically underperforms compared to other public health surveillance systems.
• Improving data collection on industry and occupation is crucial for enhancing occupational health surveillance.
• Wisconsin implemented a project to address these data gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate methods for improving the capture of industry and occupation data in surveillance case follow-up interviews.
• To enhance the completeness of occupational data for potentially work-related conditions.

Main Methods:

• Five distinct approaches were employed to maintain and improve industry and occupation data capture.
• Efforts were coordinated across state, local, and Tribal health departments in Wisconsin.
• Data from working-age case-patients with reportable conditions (2022-2024) were analyzed for completion rates.

Main Results:

• Industry and occupation field completion rates showed a significant increase over the three-year study period.
• Improvements were most notable in conditions that initially had lower data completion rates.
• The project demonstrated success in enhancing data quality for occupational surveillance.

Conclusions:

• The implemented strategies were effective in improving the capture of industry and occupation data in Wisconsin.
• This enhancement benefits the surveillance of potentially work-related infectious diseases and overall occupational health monitoring.
• The project provides a model for improving occupational surveillance data quality in other jurisdictions.