Use of statewide electronic emergency department data for occupational injury surveillance: a feasibility study in Massachusetts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis LK ; Hackman HH ; Hunt PR ; McKeown LN ; Ozonoff VV
• Description:
  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. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Computers Electrical Equipment And Supplies Emergency Responders Epidemiology Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Injury Data-processing Electronic-devices Emergency-treatment Emergency Department Data Health-care-facilities Information-systems Injuries Qualitative-analysis Surveillance Surveillance-programs

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  344-352
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040494
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2012 Apr; 55(4):344-352
• Contact Point Address:
  Letitia K. Davis, ScD, EdM, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington St., Sixth Floor, Boston, MA 02108
• Email:
  letitia.davis@state.ma.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Surveillance Research Methods
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20040914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:783e459e9309b47b116c1a882f83625b5763710b0a259066c0e1740496a479f77f1fab52e6b9a861eca6eaef9723d5c02090a26447b1c6da57228519ef84c037
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193331/cdc_193331_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 118.15 KB ]