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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce work-related skin diseases — OSH‑03 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Sources:  Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), DOL/BLS; Current Population Survey (CPS), Census and DOL/BLS

Baseline: 2.2 occupational skin diseases or disorders per 10,000 full-time workers occurred in 2017

Target: 0.3 per 10,000

Numerator
Number of reported nonfatal illnesses due to work-related skin disease and disorders from employer's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) injury illness log.
Denominator
Number of hours worked by workers.
Target-setting method
Projection
Target-setting method details
Linear trend fitted using ordinary least squares and a projection at the 50 percent prediction interval.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective. Using historical data points, a trend line was fitted using ordinary least squares, and the trend was projected into the next decade. This method was used because three or more comparable data points were available, the projected value was within the range of possible values, and a projection at the 50 percent prediction interval was selected because no additional information could be used to assess the trend line, so the target was based on the projection.

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source pages linked above.)

From the 2017 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses:

Numerator:
From your OSHA form 300-A, report the following from last year:

(under injury and illness types)
1. Total number of skin disorder.

Denominator:
From your OSHA form 300-A, report the following:

1. Total hours worked by all employees last year.

Methodology notes

Skin diseases or disorders are illnesses involving the worker's skin that are caused by work exposure to chemicals, plants or other substances. Examples include: contact dermatitis, eczema, or rash caused by primary irritants and sensitizers or poisonous plants; oil acne; friction blisters, chrome ulcers; and inflammation of the skin. The SOII is a cooperative Federal–State program in which employer reports of occupational injuries and illnesses based on OSHA recordkeeping rules are collected from a nationally representative sample of private industry establishments. For the first time in 2008, the SOII provided national public sector estimates covering nearly 19 million state and local government workers. The survey excludes the self-employed, farms with fewer than 11 employees, private household workers, and employees in Federal government agencies. The incidence rates represent the number of illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 20,000,000, where N=number of illnesses, EH=total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year, and 20,000,000=base for 10,000 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. Information on the type of industry for the numerator is based on employer responses and converted to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. Although reported occupational skin diseases or disorders (OSDs) have been reduced by approximately 50% over the last 10 years, they still represent one of the most frequently reported classes of occupational illnesses. OSDs occur in all industries.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.

1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.