Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 15, Issue 3 , Pages 219-227, March 2005

The Use of Sentinel Injury Deaths to Evaluate the Quality of Multiple Source Reporting for Occupational Injuries

  • Gordon S. Smith, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to: Gordon S. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, 71 Frankland Road, Hopkinton MA 01748. Tel.: (508) 497-0250; Fax: (508) 435 3456.
    • ,
  • Mark A. Veazie, DrPH, MPH
    • ,
  • Katy L. Benjamin, PhD, SM, MSW

From the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, MA (G.S.S.); Native American Cardiology Program, Indian Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services, Flagstaff, AZ (M.A.V.); Department of Family Medicine, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA (K.L.B.); and SSDS, Inc., Boston, MA (K.L.B.)

Received 24 November 2003; accepted 27 July 2004. published online 04 November 2004.

Purpose

This study sought to develop an efficient method for evaluating the validity and completeness of routinely available sources of occupational injury fatality data.

Methods

Deaths due to falls from elevations, machinery, and electrocutions were selected as sentinel injuries likely to have occurred at work. Deaths from these injuries were identified from Maryland vital statistics over 7 years. The work-relatedness of these injuries and sensitivity of reporting were determined from death certificates, medical examiner reports, the National Traumatic Occupational Fatality System (NTOF), the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MOSH), and Workers' Compensation (WC) data.

Results

A total of 527 deaths were identified for ages 16 and above, of which, 45% were work-related. Identification of work-related deaths varied by source: medical examiner (100%), death certificates (89%), NTOF (68%), MOSH (59%), and WC (44%). Reporting differed by age, cause of injury, year, occupation, and industry.

Conclusions

Examination of work-relatedness for deaths from certain causes is an efficient means of evaluating the quality of occupational injury reporting source data. These sentinel injuries uncovered significant underreporting in sources used by national surveillance systems, resulted in improved NTOF reporting, and suggest the need to make more use of medical examiner data when available.

Key words: Accidents, Case Ascertainment, Data Collection, Epidemiologic Methods, Evaluation, Injury, Medical Examiner Reports, Mortality, Occupational, Occupational Safety and Health Reports, Population, Sentinel, Surveillance, Workers' Compensation Data, Work-related Fatalities, Wounds and Injuries

Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms: BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFOI, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, ME, medical examiner, MOSH, Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration, NIOSH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NSC, National Safety Council, NTOF, National Traumatic Occupational Fatality, WC, Workers' Compensation

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 This study was supported in part by purchase order no. 944279 from the Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a FIRST Award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R29AA07700), and grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy (R49/CC R 302486).

PII: S1047-2797(04)00241-8

doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2004.07.094

Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 15, Issue 3 , Pages 219-227, March 2005

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