Citation

Davis LK, Hunt PR, Hackman HH, McKeown LN, Ozonoff VV. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2012; 55(4): 344-352.

Affiliation

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Boston, Massachusetts. letitia.davis@state.ma.us.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.21035

PMID

22125024

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Statewide datasets of emergency department (ED) visits may be useful for occupational injury surveillance. Using data from 12 hospitals, we evaluated two indicators of work-relatedness in reported ED data and the availability of employment information in medical charts. METHODS: Workers' compensation as payer and/or "yes" in an injury-at-work field were used to define probable work-related (PWR) injury visits in the Massachusetts ED dataset. Charts were reviewed for a sample of 1,002 PWR and 250 probable nonwork-related (PNWR) cases. RESULTS: Using chart information as the gold standard, indicators of work-relatedness had a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 97%, and predictive value positive of 86%. Employer name was in charts for 89% of PWR and 42% of PNWR cases. Occupation was available for 34% of PWR cases. CONCLUSION: Electronic ED data are useful for state surveillance of occupational injuries. Improvements in attribution of work-relatedness and collection of available employer identifiers and occupational information would enhance its usefulness. The performance of indicators of work-relatedness in ED datasets should be examined in different states. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en