Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace Publications
RAND has conducted research related to workplace health and safety for several decades; recent reports are listed here.
California's Volatile Workers' Compensation Insurance Market — 2009
Regulatory Actions that Could Reduce Unnecessary Medical Expenses Under California's Workers' Compensation Program — 2009
The Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee Program: An Evaluation of Participation and Effects on Work Injury Rates — 2008
Issues and Performance in the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation System — 2008
Workers' Compensation Medical Treatment Study — 2005
How Does Health Insurance Affect Workers' Compensation Filing? — 2005
Payments for Burn Patients Under California's Official Medical Fee Schedule for Injured Workers — 2005
Working Paper
Paying for Repackaged Drugs Under the California Workers' Compensation Official Medical Fee Schedule — 2005
Working Paper
Payment for Hardware Used in Complex Spinal Procedures under California's Official Medical Fee Schedule for Injured Workers — 2005
Adopting Medicare Fee Schedules: Considerations for the California Workers' Compensation Program — 2004
Inflation in Hospital Charges: Implications for the California Workers' Compensation Program — 2003
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Occupational Health Care
The Frequency, Severity, and Economic Consequences of Musculoskeletal Injuries to Firefighters in California — 2010
Assessment of 24-Hour Care Options for California — 2004
Evaluating Medical Treatment Guideline Sets for Injured Workers in California — 2005
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Dispute Resolution
Improving the Performance of the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Market — 2010
Improving Dispute Resolution for California's Injured Workers — 2003
An Evaluation of California's Permanent Disability Rating System — 2005
Data for Adjusting Disability Ratings to Reflect Diminished Future Earnings and Capacity in Compliance with SB 899 — 2004
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Occupational Safety
Demonstrating and Communicating Research Impact: Preparing NIOSH Programs for External Review — 2009
The Effects of Substance Use on Workplace Injuries — 2009
What Kinds of Injuries Do OSHA Inspections Prevent? — 2008
Occupational Safety and Health for Public Safety Employees: Assessing the Evidence and the Implications for Public Policy — 2008
The Impact of OSHA Inspections on Lost Time Injuries in Manufacturing: Pennsylvania Manufacturing, 1998-2005 — 2008
Mandatory Workplace Safety and Health Programs: Implementation, Effectiveness, and Benefit-Cost Trade-Offs — 2008
The Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee Program: An Evaluation of Participation and Effects on Work Injury Rates — 2008
Nanomaterials in the Workplace: Policy and Planning Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health — 2006
Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk: An Exploratory Analysis — 2006
Review of Literature Related to Exposures and Health Effects at Structural Collapse Events — 2005
Emergency Responder Injuries and Fatalities: An Analysis of Surveillance Data — 2004
Protecting Emergency Responders Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response — 2004
Individual Preparedness Response to Chemical, Radiological, Nuclear, and Biological Terrorist Attacks — 2003
Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 2: Community Views of Safety and Health Risks and Personal Protection Needs — 2003
Protecting Emergency Responders - Lessons Learned from Terrorist Attacks — 2002
Hazard Abatement as a Function of Firm Size: The Effects of Internal Firm Characteristics and External Incentives — 1988
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Workplace Disability and Return to Work
How Effective are Employer Return to Work Programs? — 2010
An Evaluation of California's Permanent Disability Rating System — 2005
Data for Adjusting Disability Ratings to Reflect Diminished Future Earnings and Capacity in Compliance with SB 899 — 2004
2013
Refinery Process Safety Performance and Models of Government-Industry Relations — 2013
Testimony submitted before the California Department of Industrial Relations and the Governor's Task Force on Refinery Safety on June 11, 2013.
2012
Allowances for Spinal Hardware under California’s Official Medical Fee Schedule: Issues and Options — 2012
Testimony presented before the California State Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on May 9, 2012.
Are There Unusually Effective Occupational Safety and Health Inspectors and Inspection Practices? — 2012
Examines the role of inspector style in influencing the effectiveness of inspections in reducing injury rates.
An Evaluation of the California Injury and Illness Prevention Program — 2012
The Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) requirement has been the most frequently cited standard in California workplace health and safety inspections almost every year since it became effective in July 1991. This evaluation of the IIPP measures program effectiveness using information on citations for violations of the program and data on worker safety in California.
The Impact of Health Care Reform on Workers’ Compensation Medical Care: Evidence from Massachusetts — 2012
Health care reform can potentially affect the volume and cost of medical care received through workers' compensation (WC), but so far there has been little empirical evidence of this effect. This study used Massachusetts's health care reform experience to empirically estimate how reform impacts WC hospital care.
2011
California's Workers' Compensation Reform: Effects on Return to Work — 2011
This brief summarizes a study of how changes to the workers' compensation system have affected return-to-work rates in California, how return-to-work trends compare with policy changes, and recent trends in benefit adequacy.
Medical Care Provided Under California's Workers' Compensation Program: Effects of the Reforms and Additional Opportunities to Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Care — 2011
This book examines the impact that changes to California's workers' compensation (WC) system have had on the medical care provided to injured workers, synthesizes findings from interviews and available information regarding the implementation of the changes affecting WC medical care, and identifies areas in which additional changes might increase the quality and efficiency of care delivered under the WC system.
RAND/UCLA Quality-of-Care Measures for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Tools for Assessing Quality of Care and Appropriateness of Surgery — 2011
This study produced two unique tools for healthcare organizations to use to assess, monitor, and provide appropriate care for people with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). One tool assesses the quality of care received by a population of patients with CTS; the other identifies whether surgery is necessary, optional, or inappropriate for individual patients.
Use of Compound Drugs, Medical Foods, and Co-Packs in California's Workers' Compensation Program: An Overview of the Issues — 2011
Explores issues surrounding the use of compound drugs, co-packs and medical foods under the California workers' compensation program and assesses whether policy changes are needed to promote medically appropriate and efficient use of these products.
Workers' Compensation Reform and Return to Work: The California Experience — 2011
Provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects of several large changes to the workers' compensation system on return to work rates for California's injured workers.
2010
The Frequency, Severity, and Economic Consequences of Musculoskeletal Injuries to Firefighters in California — 2010
The most common work-related injuries among firefighters are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Understanding the frequency and severity of firefighter MSDs is more important with recent changes to California workers' compensation. This book describes the effect of work-related MSDs on firefighters' earnings and employment, the reforms' impact on disability ratings, and employment outcomes since the reforms to the medical delivery system.
How Effective are Employer Return to Work Programs? — 2010
Examines the effectiveness of employer-based return to work programs.
Improving the Performance of the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Market — 2010
Analyzes factors that led to swings in the California workers' compensation insurance market after partial rate deregulation in 1995 and suggest ways to reduce market volatility and insurer insolvencies while maintaining the benefits of competition.
The Role of Inspection Sequence in Compliance with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Standards: Interpretations and Implications — 2010
The authors examined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's inspections in the US to identify the effects of repeated inspections and the time between inspections on non-compliance.
2009
Ambulatory Surgery Facility Services Provided to California's Injured Workers — 2009
Examines the types of ambulatory surgical procedures performed on injured workers covered by the California workers' compensation system and whether they vary by hospital outpatient and freestanding ambulatory surgery settings.
California's Volatile Workers' Compensation Insurance Market: Problems and Recommendations for Change — 2009
Since partial rate deregulation in 1995, the California workers' compensation insurance market has seen dramatic swings in underwriting profits and the share of coverage written by private carriers. Many insurers have failed. This book considers why and looks at the regulatory system and its response, then makes recommendations to reduce market volatility and the frequency of insolvencies while realizing the benefits of a competitive market.
Demonstrating and Communicating Research Impact: Preparing NIOSH Programs for External Review — 2009
From 2005 to 2008, the National Academies conducted an external review of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research programs. This external review assessed programs' impact on and relevance to preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. This book describes the methodology that RAND researchers developed to help NIOSH programs prepare for the external review.
The Effects of Substance Use on Workplace Injuries — 2009
This paper describes associations between substance use and occupational injuries, reviews related literature and policies, and discusses what remains unknown about the relationship between substance use and occupational injuries and identifies future avenues for research that could help fill some of these research gaps.
Helping Research Programs Demonstrate Impact — 2009
RAND researchers used logic models, outcome worksheets, and outcome narratives to help the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health demonstrate and communicate the impact of its research.
Inpatient Hospital Services: An Update on Services Provided Under California's Workers' Compensation Program — 2009
Examines changes in the number and type of discharges and maximum allowable fees under the California Workers' Compensation Official Medical Fee Schedule for inpatient hospital services from 2003-2005.
Regulatory Actions that Could Reduce Unnecessary Medical Expenses Under California's Workers' Compensation Program — 2009
Provides a summary of potential refinements to the Official Medical Fee Schedule that would reduce the California's workers compensation program's medical expenses.
2008
The Impact of OSHA Inspections on Lost Time Injuries in Manufacturing: Pennsylvania Manufacturing, 1998-2005 — 2008
Lost time injuries at Pennsylvania manufacturing plants inspected by OSHA from 1998 to 2005 declined by about 19-24 % in the next 2 years if OSHA issued fines. These effects were not seen at workplaces with fewer than 20 or more than 250 employees.
Issues and Performance in the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation System — 2008
Examines the performance of Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation system, focusing on benefits and compensation, workplace safety, medical care, and dispute resolution. The authors find that the system performs fairly well relative to other states, but that it faces challenges in improving safety and in dealing with rising health care costs. The authors discuss future policy options, emphasizing the need for more and better performance data.
Mandatory Workplace Safety and Health Programs: Implementation, Effectiveness, and Benefit-Cost Trade-Offs — 2008
In 1998, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began developing a standard that would have required all workplaces to establish a safety and health program. By 1999, it had abandoned its rulemaking process, partly due to intense criticism of the proposed standard. This report assesses the standard and studies of its potential effects, concluding with recommendations should federal or state authorities revisit the initiative.
Occupational Safety and Health for Public Safety Employees: Assessing the Evidence and the Implications for Public Policy — 2008
Police officers, firefighters, and other public safety workers face exceptionally high rates of injury and fatality relative to the general workforce. This document provides an analysis of the risk factors associated with different aspects of public safety occupations, to help policymakers in their efforts to improve the health and safety of these employees.
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