TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2012//
TI  - Use of statewide electronic emergency department data for occupational injury surveillance: A feasibility study in Massachusetts
JO  - American journal of industrial medicine
A1  - Davis, Letitia K.
A1  - Hunt, Phillip R.
A1  - Hackman, H. Holly
A1  - McKeown, Loreta N.
A1  - Ozonoff, Victoria V.
SP  - 344
EP  - 352
VL  - 55
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: Statewide datasets of emergency department (ED) visits may be useful for occupational injury surveillance. Using data from 12 hospitals, we evaluated two indicators of work-relatedness in reported ED data and the availability of employment information in medical charts. METHODS: Workers' compensation as payer and/or "yes" in an injury-at-work field were used to define probable work-related (PWR) injury visits in the Massachusetts ED dataset. Charts were reviewed for a sample of 1,002 PWR and 250 probable nonwork-related (PNWR) cases. RESULTS: Using chart information as the gold standard, indicators of work-relatedness had a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 97%, and predictive value positive of 86%. Employer name was in charts for 89% of PWR and 42% of PNWR cases. Occupation was available for 34% of PWR cases. CONCLUSION: Electronic ED data are useful for state surveillance of occupational injuries. Improvements in attribution of work-relatedness and collection of available employer identifiers and occupational information would enhance its usefulness. The performance of indicators of work-relatedness in ED datasets should be examined in different states. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0271-3586
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.21035
ID  - ref1
ER  -