Comparison of work-related fatality surveillance in the U.S.A. and Australia

Abstract Stout, N., Frommer, M.S. and Harrison, J.E., 1990. Comparison of work-related fatality surveillance in the U.S.A. and Australia. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 13: 195–211. Recently conducted studies of traumatic work-related fatalities in the U.S.A. and Australia were compared and analyzed in order to identify ways of improving the quality and utility of fatal occupational injury surveillance data at national level. Methodological differences between the two studies are examined, and comparative data are presented. Despite differences in data acquisition methods and in the structure of the labor and work environment, the results of the two studies were remarkably similar. The mean annual rates of fatal injury while working, for persons in the employed civilian labor force during the period 1982–1984, were 5.9 100 000 in the U.S.A. and 6.7 100 000 in Australia. Because the U.S. data collection method is likely to have underestimated the occurrence of work-related fatalities, the difference between U.S. and Australian rates is probably over-estimated by these figures. The fatality rates for age, sex and employment groups were also similar. Considerations necessary for meaningful comparison of surveillance data from different sources are discussed.