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Abstract
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Great efforts have been made in the European Union to harmonize data gathering for work accident statistics, as they are basic for the decision making of the different agents involved in occupational risk prevention.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to analyse the coding reliability and validity of a set of variables of work accident report forms notified to the Catalan labour authority.
METHODS
Cross sectional double-blind study. Study population: workers who had suffered a work accident with associated sick leave between October 1st and December 31st 2010 in Catalonia. Reliability of variables related to the characteristics of the worker, their workplace and the accident was analysed with the agreement reliability coefficient (Kappa index). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated to determine its validity.
RESULTS
The variables selected in relation to the characteristics of the worker and his/her workplace had a good to excellent reliability; those variables related to the accident causes had low to moderate reliability.
CONCLUSIONS
There is great room for improvement in the quality of data of work accident report forms and the different governments involved should increase their efforts in this sense. These actions should be aimed to improve quality of preventive public policies and its efficiency. |