Report compares injuries, health conditions in every state

Chicago – A new report from UL details the health conditions and workplace safety rates in every state, as well as their financial impact.

Published in January by UL’s Integrated Health & Safety Institute, the report breaks down data for each state and compares it with the national average. Data points include prevalence of diabetes, heart diseases and obesity; workplace injury and illness and fatality rates also are covered.

The report sums up each state’s direct and indirect expenditures associated with health care, lost productivity and days of absence costs. Additionally, workers’ compensation data for a five-year period is included.

The areas of the country with the highest prevalence (compared with the national average) of various adverse health conditions were mostly located in Southern states, whereas the Great Plains had among the highest prevalence of workplace fatalities.

“The insight [gleaned] from this information will help [employers] identify and understand potential issues that, if managed through an integrated health and safety framework, could prevent and/or reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace,” IHSI Global Director Todd Hohn said in the report’s introduction.

Data was compiled from several different sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings.