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Approaches for assessing the efficacy of occupational health and safety standards
Author(s) -
Stayner Leslie,
Kuempel Eileen,
Rice Faye,
Prince Mary,
Althouse Rochelle
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199604)29:4<353::aid-ajim14>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - pneumoconiosis , medicine , environmental health , occupational safety and health , occupational disease , silicosis , government (linguistics) , public health , asbestos , pathology , philosophy , materials science , metallurgy , linguistics
The regulation of hazards is one of the most dramatic forms of intervention in occupational safety and health (OSH). Despite their high degree of potential social and economic impact, relatively little research has been conducted to specifically evaluate the effectiveness of OSH standards with regard to preventing occupational diseases and injuries. This paper reviews the basic scientific approaches that may be used to evaluate the efficacy of OSH standards. These approaches encompass the following research areas: (1) exposure surveillance, (2) disease surveillance, and (3) prospective studies following the introduction of the standard. Research on asbestos and asbestosis, respirable crystalline silica (quartz) and silicosis, and respirable coal mine dust and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) are used to illustrate these approaches and the type of information that is currently available. The examples (quartz coal dust, asbestos) reveal substantial limitations in the types of information currently available for evaluating the efficacy of these OSH standards. Ideally, plans for evaluating the efficacy of OSH standards should be developed for existing and future standards. These plans should include programs for the surveillance of exposures and adverse health effects and, when possible, for prospective studies designed to evaluate how the risk of disease (or injury) is modified by the introduction of the standard. (This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.) © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.