Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Benavides, F. G.
Right arrow Articles by Benach, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Benavides, F. G.
Right arrow Articles by Benach, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Occupational Medicine 2004;54:110-114
Occupational Medicine, Vol. 54 No. 2 © Society of Occupational Medicine 2004; all rights reserved

Underreporting of fatal occupational injuries in Catalonia (Spain)

Fernando G. Benavides1, Gloria Pérez2, Jordi Martínez3, José Miguel Martínez1, Rosa Gispert2 and Joan Benach1

1 Unitat de Recerca en Salut Laboral, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Doctor Aiguader, 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
2 Registre de Mortalitat de Catalunya, Servei d'Informació i Estudis, Departament de Sanitat i Seguretat Social, Barcelona, Spain
3 Centre de Seguretat i Condicions de Salut en el Treball, Departament de Treball, Barcelona, Spain

Background Thoroughness in a given health information system is one of its most important quality indicators. In Spain, in ~30% of serious occupational injuries, there is no information on the final outcome.

Aim To assess underreporting of fatal occupational injuries in Catalonia.

Methods All serious occupational injuries (excluding commuting injuries) reported in Catalonia (Spain) between 1994 and 1998 (n = 7330) were linked with data from the Catalonian Mortality Register, 117 deaths being identified during the year following the injury date. In order to assess whether death could or could not have been related to the prior occupational injury, two experts examined these cases independently.

Results The experts concluded ({kappa} = 0.98) that 69 (59%) of these deaths were probably related to occupational injuries; the vast majority (n = 65) occurred within 3 months of the injury. This represents an accumulated risk of dying of ~1% for the total of serious injuries, not varying with economic activity or job category. However, this risk varied depending on the form of accident, and the site and nature of the injury.

Conclusions Occupational injury cases, especially serious ones, should be followed up over at least 3 months. These results suggest the importance of carrying out active case-finding and of incorporating the death certificate as one of the documents to be systematically reviewed in order to complete the statistics.

Keywords      Fatal work injury; fatality rates; occupational health information system

Received       16 April 2003
Revised         28 July 2003
Accepted       29 September 2003

Correspondence to: Fernando G. Benavides, Occupational Health Research Unit. Department of Experimental and Health Sciences. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Doctor Aiguader, 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Tel: +34 9 3542 2525; fax: +34 9 3542 2802; e-mail: fernando.benavides{at}upf.edu


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.