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Identification and characterization of Kentucky self‐employed occupational injury fatalities using multiple sources, 1995–2004
Author(s) -
Bunn Terry,
Costich Julia,
Slavova Svetla
Publication year - 2006
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.20402
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational safety and health , occupational injury , injury prevention , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , identification (biology) , environmental health , medical emergency , botany , biology , pathology
Background Identification and characterization of occupational injury fatalities in self‐employed workers typically relies on a single data source and thus may miss some cases. Methods Kentucky self‐employed worker injury fatalities were identified using Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program data (1995–2004) and compared to non self‐employed worker data. Occupations and industries listed on death certificates were compared to those in which the decedent was actually engaged. Results Of 1,281 Kentucky worker injury deaths, 28% were self‐employed. Death certificates failed to identify 31% of these deaths as work‐related; industry and occupation were incorrectly identified in 27% and 16%, respectively. Fifty‐seven percent of the deaths were in agriculture, primarily tractor‐related. For Kentucky, the self‐employed crude death rate was higher (27.6/100,000) than the non self‐employed worker (5.4/100,000) rate or the US (11.5/100,000) self‐employed rate. Conclusions Multiple information sources improve identification of self‐employed status in work‐related injury fatalities. Effective prevention requires accurate surveillance and examination of contributing factors. Self‐employed worker injuries in high‐risk industries should be more fully examined for development of effective injury prevention programs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.