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Our project, OSH-Connect, aims to improve worker health and reduce workplace injury risk. We will achieve this by generating unique policy and practice-relevant insights via the development, analysis and dissemination of a new global OSH database.
Many people around the world are injured or made ill by their work, and these problems can seriously affect their health, family life and finances. We also know that some workers, such as migrants, part‑time workers, and people in low‑income countries, face higher risks than others. However, we still do not fully understand why these differences happen. One major reason is that important information about workplace safety is spread across many different international organisations. Each group collects different pieces of data, but these pieces are not combined. Because of this, we cannot get a clear global picture of the social, economic and cultural factors that influence workplace safety. Our project aims to bring these datasets together to fill this knowledge gap and help countries better prevent work‑related injury and illness.
The funding we have received will be used to establish OSH-Connect: The Global Occupational Safety and Health Data Platform. OSH-Connect will be a new, single-source global database that brings together World Risk Poll data with a wide range of other high‑quality international datasets on workplace injuries, fatalities, labour conditions and social and economic factors.
We will collect and organise all relevant data, check its quality and combine it into one consistent, country‑level dataset. We will then analyse the database to explore important questions about how workplace risks differ between countries and what social or economic factors drive those differences. Alongside this, we will create an online dashboard so users can easily view, compare and download data.
This project will help make workers around the world safer by giving governments, employers and safety organisations better evidence to guide their decisions. By creating a new global database that brings together high‑quality information on workplace injuries, diseases and their causes, the project will make it easier to identify who is most at risk and why.
The database and online dashboard will also allow researchers and policy makers to track patterns, compare countries, and test whether current safety measures are working. By sharing findings widely through reports, plain‑language summaries, conferences and an accessible website, the project will ensure this knowledge reaches the people who can use it to improve safety. Over time, this will support stronger, more effective OSH policies and contribute to reducing workplace injuries and improving worker health.
The World Risk Poll provides a unique source of global information from the viewpoint of workers, on their experiences and perceptions of workplace safety and harm, something no other international dataset captures. On its own, the Poll already provides valuable insights into how people perceive risks and the types of harm they experience. However, by combining this data with other high‑quality sources on workplace injuries, fatalities, labour conditions, and social and economic factors, we can create a far richer and more complete picture of occupational safety and health around the world. OSH-Connect will also greatly expand the capacity of researchers, policy makers and international organisations to use and apply the Poll data to improve worker safety globally.
To maximise impact, we want to work closely with organisations and experts who can use the findings to improve workplace safety globally.
In addition to Lloyd’s Register Foundation, we are engaging international OSH bodies, including members of the International Commission on Occupational Health and the International Labour Organization, who can help interpret, apply and share the insights from the new database.
We plan to work with national OSH regulators, policymakers, researchers, and data custodians from different countries to ensure the database reflects diverse contexts and is widely used. By involving these groups throughout the project, we can strengthen the evidence‑to‑policy pipeline and ensure the World Risk Poll drives meaningful improvements in worker health and safety.
To find out more about this project, get in touch with the project team at info@oshconnect.com
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