Minnesota Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Program

Project Summary/Abstract A strategic surveillance goal of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is to strengthen the capacity of state health departments to conduct occupational surveillance and related prevention activities. The purpose of this project is to enhance the capacity of the Minnesota Department of Health to promote occupational health and safety through surveillance of a core set of occupational health indicators and dissemination of the findings to appropriate stakeholders for use in setting priorities for education and prevention activities. The project will expand the use of industry and occupation reporting in established datasets and will explore new sources of data in order to include previously underserved worker populations in surveillance of occupational health and safety. The major aims of this program include: (1) Collect, analyze, disseminate and utilize Minnesota data for 24 occupational health indicators (OHIs) based on criteria established by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE); (2) Collaborate with the MDH Lead and Healthy Homes Program to participate in the Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program; (3) Advance the inclusion and use of industry and occupation information in health informatics; (4) Disseminate surveillance findings to appropriate audiences; (5) Build and maintain collaborations and partnerships to improve state surveillance activities; (6) Develop and use new data sources to address underserved worker populations, including agricultural workers, gig workers, and salon workers; (7) Evaluate the Minnesota Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Program using CDC guidelines to continuously improve the program; (8) Assess COVID-19 outcomes and experience by industry and occupation sector by comparing risk of infection, comparing case outcomes, and studying the impact of safety measures and business closures; and (9) Measure the impact of statewide agricultural safety policies and rural mental health interventions by developing consistently trackable indicators of farm injuries and farm community mental health status.