Kentucky Injury Prevention
and Research Center Publicaions

Evaluation of an educational program to improve the sensitivity of death certificates in identifying occupational fatalities.

Scheerer A, Struttmann TW, Moon E.

Surveillance of occupational fatalities in Kentucky during 1994 revealed that death certificates showed an 81 percent sensitivity in correctly identifying work-related fatalities based on the "Injury at Work?" field. This result prompted researchers at Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE), a NIOSH-sponsored project, to initiate a statewide program to increase the accuracy of death certificate data. Beginning in April 1995, coroners were provided with educational materials, via a series of presentations, mailings and phone calls designed to increase their use of the Operational Guidelines for Determination of Injury at Work (developed by the Association for Vital Records and Health Statistics). To evaluate these efforts and ascertain coroners' knowledge of the Guidelines, a telephone survey of half of the state's 120 county coroners was conducted in December 1996. Results showed that 65 percent of the coroners remembered receiving information from KY FACE; of those, 88 percent rated FACE as having been helpful in providing instruction about determining injury at work. Fifty-five percent reported routinely referring to the Guidelines when responding to the "Injury at Work?" question. To assess how coroners determine work-relatedness, they were presented with brief scenarios of fatal injury cases and then asked how they would complete the "Injury at Work?" box on the death certificate. 1996 data showed that the sensitivity of the "Injury at Work?" box in identifying occupational fatalities had increased to 84.6 percent. Analysis will continue through 1997 to assess the accuracy of the "Injury at Work?" question and further examine the benefits of the educational program.

Comments to Mark Schneider, Last Modified: July 9, 2001 by JP
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