Why data is vital to improving health

Data plays a vital role in understanding the role of health in your organisation. The analysis of data related to employee health and wellbeing, past and present, enables rail to identify trends and patterns. There are many different things we can learn from looking at data about employee health. For instance, we can find out the rates of particular types of health conditions associated with specific occupations. The importance of managing musculoskeletal health among train drivers is one obvious example. But there are more issues and underlying causes that are also revealed by analysing data.

Understanding issues allows leaders to prioritise and develop interventions to target issues underlying poor health and wellbeing. This includes taking proactive measures to promote a positive work environment. Data can also help measure the impact of your interventions to see how well they worked. Consistent data collection and monitoring is key to effectively support the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. Rail has some way to go in terms of collecting data about health and wellbeing but RSSB already produces valuable insight. One good place to start is our Graphic Insights page about the power of health and wellbeing data. This shows many things, including how different types of health conditions in rail compare with the cost of a fatality. Other insights include cardiovascular issues, respiratory disease, and hearing loss.

The findings of the 2021 mental health survey are another good example of data collection in rail. The survey revealed some shocking statistics. Up to 43% of respondents met the criteria for a mental health condition. Around 41% of respondents reported experiencing a traumatic event. And 74% of those said that at least some of those events were work-related.

So how else can we help you with data for health in the rail industry? Over the last few years RSSB has been piloting the prototype for a health and wellbeing data hub. This will be rolled-out later in 2024. To ensure the whole industry could benefit from the pilot, in October 2022 we started publishing a quarterly report with key rail indicators. These reports reveal some uncomfortable statistics. For example, that sickness absence in rail is 2.3 times higher than the national average.

However, it’s only by understanding our industry that we will be able to effectively address the health issues we face. Using data, and the Health and Wellbeing Data Hub, will help everyone get more value from data about health so that the whole industry can improve.