California was recently chosen to be one of two states awarded a three-year grant to examine workers’ compensation claims data related to injury and illness.
The Department of Industrial Relations and the California Department of Public Health announced last week they have received the nearly $200,000 grant from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
"In the past, occupational injury and illness research relied on data not normally utilized for public health purposes. The California Workers’ Compensation Surveillance Project is intended to enhance the usage of existing workers’ compensation data to survey, collect, analyze and interpret health-related information for supporting public health programs and services," the Department of Industrial Relations announced.
The work will entail "combining and summarizing data from workers’ compensation claims with other sources that have a common denominator," the department said. A public report and open data set will be produced.
"The project will help supplement policy changes, including important health and safety regulations,” said Destie Overpeck, administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation.
