Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003

Background: Globally, work-related deaths (injuries and diseases) are a major social and public health problem. Register data on fatal occupational injuries in high-income countries may be considered to have high quality, especially when reporting is mandatory and regulated by law. We aimed to asses...

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Main Authors: Finn Gjertsen, Johan Lund, Ebba Wergeland
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-12-01
Series:Global Epidemiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590113322000025
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author Finn Gjertsen
Johan Lund
Ebba Wergeland
author_facet Finn Gjertsen
Johan Lund
Ebba Wergeland
author_sort Finn Gjertsen
collection DOAJ
description Background: Globally, work-related deaths (injuries and diseases) are a major social and public health problem. Register data on fatal occupational injuries in high-income countries may be considered to have high quality, especially when reporting is mandatory and regulated by law. We aimed to assess the accuracy of work-related injury death statistics in Norway, with reference to the Labour Inspection Authority and three other on-going registration systems (the cause-specific mortality register, the register for governmental compensations, and the register for insurance companies). Methods: In this register-based study, we used the capture-recapture technique to adjust for undercounting. We investigated whether the capture-recapture method using two or three sources gave a valid estimate of fatal occupational injuries as compared with the number of cases identified in four registers administrated by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, Statistics Norway, the Labour and Welfare Administration, and Finance Norway. The inclusion criteria were fatal unintentional injuries among residents of Norway between 2000 and 2003 that occurred while working for income in private and public land-based industries. We obtained ethical and legal approvals. Results: In a period of four years (2000−2003), the Labour Inspection Authority registered 171 occupational injury deaths among residents employed in land-based industries. Two combinations of data sources gave capture-recapture estimates of 246 [95% CI 216; 279] and 265 [95% CI 234; 299] deaths. In total, 246 cases were identified in the four registration systems, which was 44% higher than the number of deaths registered by the Labour Inspection Authority. The Labour Inspection Authority had the most complete register out of the four registration systems. Conclusions: The capture-recapture method used on two overlapping data sources gave highly valid estimates of the total deaths. We demonstrated the existence of significant weaknesses in the registration systems in a country considered to have high-quality register data.
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spelling doaj.art-a21e87b075ee436eac23dd3b9cb66d6e2022-12-22T03:54:01ZengElsevierGlobal Epidemiology2590-11332022-12-014100072Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003Finn Gjertsen0Johan Lund1Ebba Wergeland2Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway; Corresponding author at: Division of Mental and Physical Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222, Skøyen, 0213 Oslo, Norway.Retired from the Norwegian Directorate of Health, NorwayRetired from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, NorwayBackground: Globally, work-related deaths (injuries and diseases) are a major social and public health problem. Register data on fatal occupational injuries in high-income countries may be considered to have high quality, especially when reporting is mandatory and regulated by law. We aimed to assess the accuracy of work-related injury death statistics in Norway, with reference to the Labour Inspection Authority and three other on-going registration systems (the cause-specific mortality register, the register for governmental compensations, and the register for insurance companies). Methods: In this register-based study, we used the capture-recapture technique to adjust for undercounting. We investigated whether the capture-recapture method using two or three sources gave a valid estimate of fatal occupational injuries as compared with the number of cases identified in four registers administrated by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, Statistics Norway, the Labour and Welfare Administration, and Finance Norway. The inclusion criteria were fatal unintentional injuries among residents of Norway between 2000 and 2003 that occurred while working for income in private and public land-based industries. We obtained ethical and legal approvals. Results: In a period of four years (2000−2003), the Labour Inspection Authority registered 171 occupational injury deaths among residents employed in land-based industries. Two combinations of data sources gave capture-recapture estimates of 246 [95% CI 216; 279] and 265 [95% CI 234; 299] deaths. In total, 246 cases were identified in the four registration systems, which was 44% higher than the number of deaths registered by the Labour Inspection Authority. The Labour Inspection Authority had the most complete register out of the four registration systems. Conclusions: The capture-recapture method used on two overlapping data sources gave highly valid estimates of the total deaths. We demonstrated the existence of significant weaknesses in the registration systems in a country considered to have high-quality register data.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590113322000025Fatal occupational injuryWork-related accidentsAdministrative dataCapture-recapture methodsLabour inspection authority
spellingShingle Finn Gjertsen
Johan Lund
Ebba Wergeland
Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
Global Epidemiology
Fatal occupational injury
Work-related accidents
Administrative data
Capture-recapture methods
Labour inspection authority
title Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
title_full Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
title_fullStr Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
title_full_unstemmed Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
title_short Accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high-income country: A comparison of two-source capture-recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in Norway, 2000–2003
title_sort accuracy of fatal occupational injury registration in a high income country a comparison of two source capture recapture estimates with the number of cases identified in four register systems in norway 2000 2003
topic Fatal occupational injury
Work-related accidents
Administrative data
Capture-recapture methods
Labour inspection authority
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590113322000025
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