Identification and characterization of Kentucky self-employed occupational injury fatalities using multiple sources, 1995-2004.

BACKGROUND Identification and characterization of occupational injury fatalities in self-employed workers typically relies on a single data source and thus may miss some cases. METHODS Kentucky self-employed worker injury fatalities were identified using Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program data (1995-2004) and compared to non self-employed worker data. Occupations and industries listed on death certificates were compared to those in which the decedent was actually engaged. RESULTS Of 1,281 Kentucky worker injury deaths, 28% were self-employed. Death certificates failed to identify 31% of these deaths as work-related; industry and occupation were incorrectly identified in 27% and 16%, respectively. Fifty-seven percent of the deaths were in agriculture, primarily tractor-related. For Kentucky, the self-employed crude death rate was higher (27.6/100,000) than the non self-employed worker (5.4/100,000) rate or the US (11.5/100,000) self-employed rate. CONCLUSIONS Multiple information sources improve identification of self-employed status in work-related injury fatalities. Effective prevention requires accurate surveillance and examination of contributing factors. Self-employed worker injuries in high-risk industries should be more fully examined for development of effective injury prevention programs.

[1]  C. Conroy,et al.  Representativeness of deaths identified through the injury-at-work item on the death certificate: implications for surveillance. , 1991, American journal of public health.

[2]  D. McArthur,et al.  Determining injury at work on the California death certificate. , 1997, American journal of public health.

[3]  M. Koenig,et al.  Trends in the economic status of the elderly, 1976-2000. , 2001, Social security bulletin.

[4]  David B Richardson,et al.  Fatal occupational injuries among self-employed workers in North Carolina. , 2003, American journal of industrial medicine.

[5]  H P Cole,et al.  Stories or statistics? Farmers' attitudes toward messages in an agricultural safety campaign. , 2002, Journal of agricultural safety and health.

[6]  Carles Muntaner,et al.  Social Class, Race/Ethnicity and All-Cause Mortality in the US: Longitudinal Results from the 1986–1994 National Health Interview Survey , 2003, European Journal of Epidemiology.

[7]  Henry P. Cole,et al.  Delivering Health Education Messages for Part-Time Farmers Through Local Employers , 2001 .

[8]  Cora Roelofs,et al.  Assessment of occupational safety and health programs in small businesses. , 2004, American journal of industrial medicine.

[9]  J M Williams,et al.  Work Related Deaths in West Virginia , 2000, AAOHN journal : official journal of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

[10]  Are the self-employed at higher risk of fatal work-related injury? , 2003 .

[11]  Equipment dealers' perceptions of a community-based rollover protective structures promotion campaign. , 2001, The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association.

[12]  B. Materna,et al.  Can Half-Day Trainings Motivate Small Contractors to Address Lead Safety? , 2004, Health promotion practice.

[13]  N Stout,et al.  Effectiveness of source documents for identifying fatal occupational injuries: a synthesis of studies. , 1991, American journal of public health.