Overview of work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system in the UK

The UK's work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system consists of Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), Labour Force Survey (LFS), The Health and Occupation Research network in General Practice (THOR-GP), and Reporting to The Health and Occupation Research network by specialist physicians. This article briefly described the scope, content, and methods of each surveillance programme in the UK work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system, and summarized their advantages and disadvantages. Among them, employers are required to report to relevant law enforcement authorities by RIDDOR, data are highly accessible but with a concern of serious underreport, and it is the only data source of fatal occupational injuries; LFS, a representative national household sample survey, covering occupational injuries and work-related diseases, is the primary data source of non-fatal occupational injuries and work-related diseases such as stress, anxiety, and depression, but collects non-clinically proven data based on self-perception; general practitioners report clinically confirmed work-related diseases, which is more scientific in attribution and is a good secondary source of work-related diseases; specialist physicians report clinically confirmed cases of higher severity, which is the primary source of data on conditions such as asthma and dermatitis, but may underestimate morbidity. Each surveillance programme of the system has its own characteristics, intersects, and complements each other, which can provide reference for the construction of occupational injury surveillance system in China.