ABSTRACT

The purpose of occupational surveillance is to track patterns of health and disease in groups of workers and to identify risk factors that influence these trends. Ultimately, this information should be used to direct the implementation of measures to prevent and/or control work-related disorders. Surveillance can answer questions such as, “Is there a problem?” or “Is there

still

a problem?” Establishing surveillance procedures is generally the first step in establishing an industrial ergonomics program. Surveillance serves to stimulate and focus prevention efforts and provides a method to assess the impact of corrective action.

Effective surveillance systems include the following components: (1) data collection, (2) analysis of the data, i.e., a mechanism to evaluate the meaning of the health/injury or hazard data, and (3) some action or response to ensure that surveillance activities are translated into preventive action. The response action may be directed toward individuals (e.g., providing medical treatment for symptomatic workers), or toward groups of workers (e.g., eliminating hazardous workplace conditions).