The BLS survey of occupational injuries and illnesses: a primer.

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is the nation's primary surveillance vehicle for nonfatal injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace. Based on recordable injuries and illnesses as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the SOII provides annual counts and rates by industry and state for workers in private industry and state and local government. In addition, the SOII provides details about the most severe injuries and illnesses, including characteristics of the workers involved and details of the circumstances surrounding the incident. To accompany articles that discuss research into the completeness of SOII data, this commentary provides an overview of the SOII. Included is information about the history of capturing data on workplace injuries and illnesses, current survey processes, annual outputs, and an introduction to the current concerns about underreporting.