1. Safety and Health
Beyond the Workplace
Tess Benham
March 18, 2011
®

2. National Safety Council
• Nonprofit organization since 1913
• Leader in safety excellence
• MISSION: The National Safety Council saves
lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in
homes and communities, and on the roads,
through leadership, research, education and
advocacy.
• Partnering with businesses, government
agencies, elected officials and the public
nsc.org

3. NSC: Leading Safety Advocate
• Leader in workplace, First Aid and Defensive
Driver Training
• Strategic initiatives
– Workplace safety: Journey to Safety Excellence TM
– Cell phone use while driving: #1 driver distraction
– Teen driving safety: #1 cause of death for teens
– Safety off the job: Where 9 out of 10 deaths occur
• 54,000 members
• Chapters throughout U.S.
• Global networks in 100+ countries
nsc.org

4. How You Know Us
• Safety advocacy
– Nationwide call to ban cell phone use while driving
– Graduated Driver Licensing legislation
• Congress & Expo – largest annual gathering of
safety professionals
• Research – Journal of Safety Research, Injury
Facts, Workplace benchmarking surveys
• Safety+Health – leading source of occupational
safety and health information
• Safe Communities America – U.S. certifying
center for World Health Organization program
nsc.org

5. Journey to Safety Excellence
• Safety philosophy of continuous
improvement
– Engage leadership and employees in safety
– Risk reduction Below zero
– Performance measurement
– Managing and advancing safety
management systems
Making Our World Safer
nsc.org

6. Unintentional Injuries:
What’s the national situation?
®

7. Recent Trends
Death Rate Indexes (1992=100)
180 Workplace death rate* down 33%.
170
160
150
140 Workplace
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
*Deaths per 100,000 workers.
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

8. Recent Trends (Cont.)
Death Rate Indexes (1992=100)
180 Highway death rate* down 34%.
170
160
150
140 Highway
130 Workplace
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
*Deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled.
nsc.org
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

9. Recent Trends (Cont.)
Death Rate Indexes (1992=100) Home & Community
death rate* up 74%.
180
170
160
150
140 Home &
130 Community
120 Highway
110
100 Workplace
90
80
70
60
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
*Deaths per 100,000 population.
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

10. Recent Trends (Cont.)
Death Rate Indexes (1992=100) Total U-I death rate* up 23%.
180
170
160
150
140 Home &
130 Community
120
Highway
110
100
90 Workplace
80
70
60 Total
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

11. Unintentional Injuries
• #1 cause of death for people 1 to 42
years old
• #5 cause of death for all ages
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

12. Leading Causes of Death, 2007
Heart disease 616,067
Cancer 562,875
Stroke 135,952
Chronic lower respiratory disease 127,924
Unintentional injuries 123,706
Alzheimer’s disease 74,632
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
nsc.org

13. Unintentional Injuries
• In 2008, 38.9 million
people – 1 in 9 –
sought medical
consultation for an
injury.
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

14. Costs of Injuries (2008)
• $693.5 billion
• $5,900 per household
• $2,300 per person
• Paid…
– directly out of pocket, and
– higher prices for goods and services, and
– higher taxes
nsc.org

15. What does “off-the-job” mean?
• Not on the job
• Includes –
– People employed (full- or part-time) but not at work
• Excludes –
– Children
– Persons keeping house full time
– Retired
– Unemployed
– Other persons not in the labor force
nsc.org

16. “Off-the-job” or “non-work” injuries?
• Off-the-job includes the part of
– Motor-vehicle
– Home and Community
involving workers away from work
• Non-work includes all of
– Motor-vehicle
– Home and Community
nsc.org

17. OTJ Compared to On the Job
On-The-Job Off-the-Job
• 141 million workers at risk • 141 million workers at risk
• 3,582 on-the-job deaths • 55,800 worker OTJ
• 5.1 million medically deaths
consulted injuries • 14.4 million worker OTJ
• $168.9 billion in costs to medically consulted
society injuries
• $246.8 billion in OTJ
costs to society
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

18. Home & Community Deaths
42% are Workers
37,600
Workers
52,700 Non-workers
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

19. Off vs. On-the-Job Deaths – 16:1
60,000
50,000
40,000
On-the-Job
30,000 55,800 Off-the-Job
20,000
10,000
3,582
0
Deaths
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

20. Off vs. On-the-Job Injuries – 3:1
16
14
12
(Millions)
10
On-the-Job
8
14.4 Off-the-Job
6
4
2 5.1
0
Medically Consulted Injuries
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

21. Time Lost from Work – 6:1
900
800
700
600
545
Days 500 In Future Years
(Millions) 400 In 2009
300
200
255
100 45
55
0
On-the-Job Off-the-Job
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

22. Average Age at Death and
Remaining Lifetime
90
80 11 10 12
15
70
60 40
Average
Years
50 Remaining
40 77 78 76 Lifetime
71 Average Age
30
at Death
20 41
10
0
Heart Cancer Stroke CLRD* U-I
Disease
* Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
Source: NSC estimates based on 2007 NCHS data.
nsc.org

23. What the previous graph means
• People who die from unintentional injuries are, on
average, 20 to 25 years younger than people who
die from other leading causes of death.
• They are still working.
• They are still raising families.
• They would have lived, on average, another 27
years.
nsc.org

24. Affect on Workers’
and Their Families
®

25. All Accidental Deaths: 49% are Workers
Home & Highway
(Non-Work)
Community
Workers
Workplace
(Hwy + non-Hwy)
nsc.org
Source: National Safety Council estimates.

26. All Accidental Deaths: 63% are
Workers or Their Family Members
Home & Highway
Community (Non-Work)
Workers:
Workers’ spouses
& children:
Workplace
(Hwy + non-Hwy)
nsc.org
Source: National Safety Council estimates.

27. Why focus on the workplace?
• Workplace programs have direct access to the
American workforce – 141 million workers
• These programs can reach beyond the workplace and
address family safety and health
• Policies become personal habits – workplace policies
influence about 65% of all adults*
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Situation Summary. February 2011.
nsc.org

28. Trends
• 80% of companies with 50 employees or more offer
worksite health promotion programs.
– Less information is known about the extent that off-the-job
injury prevention is included in corporate health promotion
efforts.
– 35% to 80% of NSC members report including off-the-job
injury prevention in company health promotion activities.
• Activity ranges from general awareness to fully
integrated employee safety, health and wellness
management systems.
nsc.org

29. Current Science
• Evidence shows that worksite health and safety
promotion and wellness programs have been effective
– More productive employees
– Lower absenteeism
• Employers with healthier employees spend less on:
– Direct medical costs
– Worker’s compensation or disability costs
– Replacement costs for ill or injured employees
– Costs for training or recruiting new employees
nsc.org

30. Current Science
• Positive cost-benefit ratio ranges – for every dollar
spent on health promotion and wellness programs
generates positive cost savings.
• Some interventions may need 3-5 years before
significant savings or health improvements are shown.
nsc.org

31. Workplace Influence of Family Safety &
Health
At IBM, 11,631 employees completed the voluntary, web-based program and
earned the $150 rebate.
During the 12-week program, participants chose family goals from a list of
options, such as limiting fast food to once per week, walking children to school
at least once per week, limiting video games to 30 minutes per day or
involving children in meal preparation once per week.
Results
• Family physical activity increased by 17.1 %
• Eating healthy dinners five nights a week increased by 11.8 %
• Limiting screen time to a maximum of 1 hour/day increased by 8.3 % in
children and 6.1% for adults
Study authors suggest the results show that employers can improve
short-term behaviors in children and parents in physical activity, meal
planning and screen times.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, An Observational Study of an Employer Intervention for Children's Healthy
Weight Behaviors, published in the November 2010 issue of Pediatrics.
nsc.org

32. Addressing the Issues
®

33. NSC Activities
Journey to Safety Excellence - Beyond the
Workplace
– Family Safety & Health Employer Resource
• http://beyondworkplace.nsc.org
– Family Safety & Health Webinar Series
• http://nsc.org/webinars
– Our Driving Concern
• Employer Traffic Safety Program
• http://ourdrivngconcern.nsc.org
– Benchmarking Tool (in development)
nsc.org

34. Family Safety & Health
Employer Resource
• Developed in consultation with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention experts
• Promotes healthy and safe behaviors and targets
the leading causes of employee injury, illness and
death
• Focuses on primary prevention
Features
– Scalable: designed to fit organizations of any size
– Flexible: can be adjusted to meet your specific
needs and resources
– Open-ended: provides direction and tools for you to
create your own personalize initiative
nsc.org

35. nsc.org

36. Family Safety & Health
Employer Resource
Contents
– A compilation of the recommended elements, materials and tools
– Consists of several easy-to-implement modules.
– Include background information, assessments, tools, resources,
materials and program elements
Modules
– Building Your Family Safety and Health Program
– Driving Safety
– Preventing Unintentional Overdoses
– Vaccine-Preventable Disease
– Tobacco Cessation
– Increasing Physical Activity (coming this month)
– Healthy Eating (coming soon)
Visit beyondworkplace.nsc.org
nsc.org

37. Contact Information
Tess Benham
Program Manager, Family Safety & Health Initiatives
National Safety Council
1121 Spring Lake Dr.
Itasca, IL 60143
630-775-2250
Tess.Benham@nsc.org
Visit
beyondworkplace.nsc.org
nsc.org

38. Appendix
®

39. Home & Community Trends
100,000 30
90,000 28
80,000 26
Death Rate
Deaths
70,000 24
60,000 22
50,000 20
40,000 18
30,000 16
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009
Deaths Deaths per 100,000 population
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

40. Home & Community Deaths, 2009
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000 Age 65+
20,000 Age 15-64
15,000 Age 0-14
10,000
5,000
0
lls
*
g
ng
es
ng
n
Fa
ni
am
ni
ki
o
w
ho
Fl
is
ro
Po
s/
C
D
re
Fi
*Inhalation or ingestion of food or object obstructing breathing.
nsc.org Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.

41. Trends in Leading Causes
Home & Community
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000 Falls
Poisoning
Deaths
25,000
Choking*
20,000
Drowning
15,000
Fire, Burn
10,000
5,000
0
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
10
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
*Inhalation or ingestion of food or object obstructing breathing.
Source: Injury Facts, 2011 Ed.
nsc.org

42. Emerging Best Practices
• Organizational commitment, leadership support, and
linking program to business objectives
• Employee engagement
– Employee input when developing goals and objectives
– Incentives for employee participation, high participation levels
• Effective implementation, planning and communications
• Using evidence-based interventions
• Appropriate targeting of at risk individuals with effective
screening and triage
• On-going evaluation of effectiveness
nsc.org

43. Impact of Incentive-based Worksite Health
Promotion Program on Modifiable Health Risk
• Kathleen Poole, PhD; Karol Kumpfer, PhD; Marjorie
Pett, DSW
• Design: 4 yr study, July 1990 – January 1995. Data collected at
baseline and annually. Examined modifiable risk factors including
seat belt use, smoking status, blood pressure, cholesterol, body
fat and physical activity.
• Sample Size: 304 full-time employees participated 4 consecutive
years, Attrition rates were 24.9%, 17.8%, 13.9% and 11.2%
respectively.
• Data: Clinical and Self-Reported HRA
nsc.org

44. Impact of Incentive-based Worksite Health
Promotion Program on Modifiable Health Risk
• Intervention:
– Annual 20 minute health assessment, monthly activity log.
– Participants earned points to receive financial rebate.
– Rebates ranged from $75 to max of $300, $102 average
rebate. Percentage of employees receiving rebates grew –
66% year 1 to 84% year 4.
• Results:
– Modifiable risk factors improved over time. Self reported
smoking behavior, physical activity, blood pressure and seat
belt use improved significantly over time.
– Slight increase in BMI and cholesterol from year 3 to year 4
attributed to change in timing of the data collection.
nsc.org