U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce pneumoconiosis deaths — OSH‑04 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Vital Statistics System - Mortality (NVSS-M), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 1,625 pneumoconiosis deaths among persons aged 15 years and over occurred in 2018

Target: 1,300 deaths

Numerator
Number of deaths with pneumoconiosis (ICD-10 codes J60 to J65, except J62.0).
Target-setting method
Percent improvement
Target-setting method details
20 percent improvement from the baseline.
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective, but it was not possible to project a target because the projected number of deaths based on a linear model was not realistic. A 20 percent improvement from the baseline was used to calculate a target. This method was used because many young coal miners have developed severe pneumoconiosis in recent years; therefore, it was unrealistic to expect linear declines in pneumoconiosis mortality over the next decade. Based on the data, a 20 percent improvement balances the improvements seen in older miners and the recent problems experienced among coal miners.

Methodology

Methodology notes

Pneumoconiosis death data are extracted directly from mortality data made available by the National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System-Mortality (NVSS-M). Deaths due to asbestosis, silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, other and unspecified pneumoconioses, or pneumoconiosis associated with tuberculosis are counted. Specifically, deaths with an ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision) code: Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (J60), Asbestosis (J61), Pneumoconiosis due to other dust containing silica (J62.8), Other Pneumoconiosis (J63), Unspecified Pneumoconiosis (J64), and Pneumoconiosis associated with tuberculosis (J65). Data are restricted to decedents aged 15 years and older in order to more closely represent members of the working population. While pneumoconiosis is preventable through effective control of worker exposure to occupational dusts, there are still an average of about 2,200 pneumoconiosis deaths per year since 2000.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Modified, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 but underwent a change in measurement.
Changes between HP2020 and HP2030
This objective differs from Healthy People 2020 objective OSH-4 in that objective OSH-4 tracked deaths coded to ICD-10 codes J60 through J66, while this objective tracks deaths coded to ICD-10 codes J60 to J65, excluding J62.0. Although the data source name changed from the National Surveillance System for Pneumoconiosis Mortality to the National Vital Statistics System-Mortality (NVSS-M), the actual data used to track the objective did not change.