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Disease clusters in occupational medicine: A protocol for their investigation in the workplace
Author(s) -
Fleming Lora E.,
Ducatman Alan M.,
Shalat Stuart L.
Publication year - 1992
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.4700220104
Subject(s) - medicine , disease , cluster (spacecraft) , occupational medicine , occupational disease , protocol (science) , occupational exposure , outbreak , occupational safety and health , environmental health , pathology , alternative medicine , computer science , programming language
Disease clusters have been an important source of epidemiologic and medical information in the history of occupational medicine. Many accepted disease‐exposure linkages were first observed and investigated as disease clusters in the workplace setting. Recent interest in disease cluster methodology has focused on traditional environmental settings. There has been very little work on a similar methodology for the investigation of disease clusters in the workplace, despite the many advantages of workplace cluster investigations for recognizing new etiologic associations. In this paper, a protocol is proposed and discussed which can be implemented in both acute and chronic disease cluster outbreaks in the workplace, where no obvious previously recognized cause is identified. A standardized approach to occupational disease cluster investigation will lead to increase efficiency, decreased social‐political tensions, and a greater yield of scientific information. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.