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Impact of differential injury reporting on the estimation of the total number of work‐related amputations
Author(s) -
Tak Sangwoo,
Grattan Kathleen,
Boden Les,
Ozonoff Al,
Davis Letitia
Publication year - 2014
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.22378
Subject(s) - medicine , amputation , occupational safety and health , work (physics) , workers' compensation , injury prevention , differential (mechanical device) , poison control , occupational injury , emergency medicine , compensation (psychology) , medical emergency , surgery , pathology , mechanical engineering , psychology , psychoanalysis , engineering , aerospace engineering
Background A capture‐recapture analysis was performed to estimate the total number of work‐related amputations. We examined the impact of misclassification due to differential injury reporting on the estimate of total number of work‐related amputations. Methods Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) samples and workers' compensation records (WC) were used to estimate the total number of work‐related amputations. Some of the amputation cases in one data source matched with injuries other than amputations in the other data source. We performed sensitivity analyses reassigning such cases as matched amputations. Results Depending on how we treated the cases matched with other injuries, the total number of work‐related amputations ranged from 276 to 442 cases, yielding dramatically different capture rates (35–87%). Conclusion Due to differential classification, estimates of work‐related amputations would be biased. Our findings highlight the importance of accurately reporting and classifying work‐related injuries and illnesses. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:1144–1148, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.