Multisource surveillance system for work-related burns.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to develop a multisource surveillance system for work-related burns.

METHODS

For 2009, records about work-related burns were obtained from Michigan's 134 hospitals, the Workers' Compensation Agency, the state's sole Poison Control Center, and death certificates. Companies where the most severe burns occurred were referred to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

RESULTS

There were 1461 work-related burns in 2009. Sixty-six percent of the burns were reported in male workers and 85.3% in whites. One third of the individuals sustained burns to the wrist(s) and hand(s). Second-degree and thermal burns were the most common. Accommodation and food services and health care and social assistance industries accounted for 50% of all burns.

CONCLUSIONS

The Michigan multidata source surveillance system identified three times more burns than the Bureau of Labor Statistics' employer-based system, which reported 450 burns in 2009.