Citation

Sears JM, Bowman SM, Hogg-Johnson S. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2014; 57(8): 928-939.

Affiliation

Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.22329

PMID

24811970

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization-based estimates of trends in injury incidence are also affected by trends in health care practices and payer coverage that may differentially impact minor injuries. This study assessed whether implementing a severity threshold would improve occupational injury surveillance.

METHODS: Hospital discharge data from four states and a national survey were used to identify traumatic injuries (1998-2009). Negative binomial regression was used to model injury trends with/without severity restriction, and to test trend divergence by severity.

RESULTS: Trend estimates were generally biased downward in the absence of severity restriction, more so for occupational than non-occupational injuries. Restriction to severe injuries provided a markedly different overall picture of trends.

CONCLUSIONS: Severity restriction may improve occupational injury trend estimates by reducing temporal biases such as increasingly restrictive hospital admission practices, constricting workers' compensation coverage, and decreasing identification/reporting of minor work-related injuries. Injury severity measures should be developed for occupational injury surveillance systems. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en