Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, SHARP Program, Olympia, Washington, USA.
Washington State Department of Health, RHINO Program, Olympia, Washington, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 2024 Nov;67(11):994-1005. doi: 10.1002/ajim.23650. Epub 2024 Sep 2.
Information on worker occupation and industry is critical to understanding the occupational risks of heat-related illness (HRI), yet few syndromic surveillance systems capture these key data elements. This study evaluates the work data reported through Washington syndromic surveillance for its utility in characterizing HRI ED visits by industry and occupation.
Standard industry and occupation codes were assigned to employer name and occupation descriptions reported in Washington ED visit records maintained within the state's syndromic surveillance system, for visits involving HRI in 2020-2022. HRI ED visits involving workplace heat exposure were identified based on discharge diagnoses or on keywords in the triage note or chief complaint fields. HRI ED visits were summarized by patient characteristics, and visit rates were calculated by industry and occupation.
Employer name or occupation descriptions were reported in 21.5% of HRI ED records among patients age 16 and older, and in 41.2% of records with mention of heat exposure at work. Twice as many records were classified for industry as for occupation. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting and transportation and warehousing had the highest rates of HRI ED visits. Specific industries with the highest rates included support activities for agriculture and forestry, the postal service, and fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing.
Syndromic surveillance data are a valuable source of occupational health surveillance information when work characteristics are reported, enhancing our understanding of the occupational risks of injuries and illnesses.
了解与热相关疾病 (HRI) 相关的职业风险，关键在于掌握工人职业和行业信息，但很少有症候群监测系统能够获取这些关键数据元素。本研究评估了华盛顿症候群监测系统中报告的工作数据，以评估其在描述 2020-2022 年 HRI 急诊就诊的行业和职业特征方面的效用。
在该州症候群监测系统中维护的华盛顿急诊就诊记录中，为涉及 HRI 的就诊记录分配了标准的行业和职业代码，这些记录涉及雇主名称和职业描述。根据出院诊断或分诊记录或主要诉求字段中的关键词，确定涉及工作场所热暴露的 HRI 急诊就诊。根据患者特征对 HRI 急诊就诊进行总结，并按行业和职业计算就诊率。
在年龄在 16 岁及以上的 HRI 急诊就诊记录中，有 21.5%报告了雇主名称或职业描述，在提到工作中热暴露的记录中，这一比例为 41.2%。分类为行业的记录是职业的两倍。农业、林业、渔业和狩猎以及运输和仓储业的 HRI 急诊就诊率最高。特定行业的就诊率较高，包括农业和林业支持活动、邮政服务以及水果和蔬菜保存和特种食品制造业。
当报告工作特征时，症候群监测数据是职业健康监测信息的宝贵来源，增强了我们对伤害和疾病的职业风险的理解。
