This study uses data from the New Jersey syndromic surveillance system (EpiCenter) as a data source to enhance surveillance of current non-fatal occupational injuries, illnesses, and poisonings. EpiCenter was originally developed for early detection and monitoring of the health of communities using chief complaints from people seeking acute care in hospital emergency rooms to identify health trends. Currently, syndromic surveillance has not been widely applied to identify occupational injuries and illnesses. Incorporating syndromic surveillance data from EpiCenter, along with hospital discharge data, will enhance the classification and capture of work-related non-fatal injuries with possible improved efforts at prevention.

Objective: To evaluate the use of a real-time surveillance tool to track a variety of occupationally-related emergency room visits through the state based syndromic surveillance system, EpiCenter.