Montana Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Program

Montana Department of Labor and Industry Montana Occupational Health & Safety Surveillance (MOHSS) PAR-20-312 Project Summary The Montana Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance (MOHSS) program works to accomplish three main goals in order bridge the gap between occupational health surveillance and prevention and safety activities. MOHSS accomplishes this through three primary activities that all together can provide valuable information and lead to occupational health improvement across the state. Expected outputs of the program include reports, publications, presentations, award, policies, and legislation that will lead to the outcomes of reduced workplace injuries, illness, and fatalities. The program collects, reports, and analyzes the Occupational Health Indicators as a baseline for occupational health surveillance. The indicators collected on an annual basis allow for an analysis of trends in occupational health. They are used to monitor Montana’s occupational safety and health landscape, reveal areas in need of more in-depth surveillance, and guide prevention efforts. MOHSS also uses interagency collaborations to improve the quantity and quality of occupational health data collected and used for surveillance. MOHSS works to improve access to and quality of existing systems as well as explore new data sources. In order to accomplish this, MOHSS collaborates with other agencies and bureaus within Montana to take advantage of the large variety of surveillance systems already in place. These include the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Montana Department of Transportation, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana university system, and other outside organizations. The collaborations allow for research on emerging issues such as COVID-19 and new occupational safety and health topics like Total Worker Health. Finally, MOHSS creates and maintains active communication with stakeholders in occupational safety and health to provide avenues through which information from MOHSS research can reach agencies who are able to act on the findings. Findings from MOHSS guide interventions and preventative policy targeting occupational health and safety hazards most efficiently. These relationships also provide external guidance to MOHSS and provide council on aspects of occupational health of particular importance or concern.