Monitoring work injuries in the Netherlands

Although a number of surveillance systems and national surveys collect data on work injuries in the Netherlands, a national figure can hardly be presented. This results in difficulties to evaluate the effects of preventive policies on actual worker safety and inability to set priorities for the protection of the most vulnerable categories of the workforce. The Dutch Ministery of Social Affairs and Employmnet funded this study to improve this situation. The study aimed to provide a standard method for the calculation of one credible national figure on work injuries from existing national sources of work injury data. The study started by comparing the main survellance systems and surveys on their target population, definitions and classifications and the overall quality of data. These results wete compared to each other and to a set of requirements preset by the ministery. A final decision was taken on the most useful and reliable sources. A standard method was written for the calculation of one unambiguous national figure on work injuries, overcoming the discrepancies found. Based on this method national data on work injuries were calculated. Results in 2002 the Netherlands suffered 91 deaths as a result of a work injury (1,15 per 100,000 workers), 3,500 workers were severely injured (45 per 100,000 workers needed hospital admission), 103,000 workers were absent from work for at least one dat (1,300 per 100,000 workers). Background information is available on age, gender and main branches involved. Information on the nature of the accident and workplace characteristics are available from the constituting sources but hardly compatible. Conclusions it is possible to calculate unambiguous Dutch national figures on work injuries from several sources and to set priorities. The data however are to general to base preventive actions on. The figures are estimates which could be improved if adjustments were made to the data sources available and if data from different sources were combined.