Premium
External cause‐specific summaries of occupational fatal injuries. Part II: An analysis of years of potential life lost
Author(s) -
Bailer A. John,
Bena James F.,
Stayner Leslie T.,
Halperin William E.,
Park Robert M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10190
Subject(s) - years of potential life lost , medicine , occupational safety and health , homicide , injury prevention , case fatality rate , poison control , environmental health , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , epidemiology , public health , occupational injury , demography , population , medical emergency , gerontology , life expectancy , nursing , pathology , sociology
Abstract Background Fatal injury surveillance data provide an opportunity to assess the impact of occupational injuries and may indicate which industries or occupations are appreciably more hazardous than others, and thus should be given priority in public health intervention. Methods Fatalities from the National Traumatic Occupational Fatality surveillance system served as the basis for examining external cause (E‐code) specific impact summaries. Years of potential life lost (YPLL) were calculated for fatal injuries in the years 1983–1994. Industries and occupations were compared with respect to frequency of fatal injuries. In addition, injuries in categories of external causes are examined across all industries and occupations. Results Machinery, electric current, homicide, falls, and transportation‐related are the external cause groups highlighted by high frequency/rate of occurrence. Electric current event groups are also characterized by high average YPLL. Poisoning, conflagration, and lightning were also identified in several occupations as having high associated average YPLL. Conclusions The external‐cause‐specific analysis of average YPLL identified industries and occupations where, on average, younger workers were dying in fatal injuries. Noteworthy in this assessment were homicides and falls. The YPLL measure coupled with more commonly employed indices (e.g., rates) may provide a fuller description of the impact of occupational fatal injuries. Am. J. Ind. Med. 43:251–261, 2003. Published 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.