Determining injury at work on the California death certificate.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined decisions of California Country Coroner's offices in determining injury at work and identified factors influencing this decision.


METHODS
Surveys were sent to California County Coroner's offices (response rate = 93%). The survey included 23 vignettes that required the respondent to determine whether the fatality involved an injury at work. The Rasch method was used to determine internal consistency in endorsing vignettes and to determine overall endorsability of vignettes based on underlying factors.


RESULTS
Respondents showed internal consistency but much disagreement in their endorsement of vignettes. Decedents who were performing paid work or were on their work site during working hours were almost unanimously endorsed as having incurred an injury at work. Non-payment, travel/transportation, suicide, and nontraditional work sites and work hours led to disagreement and uncertainty among respondents.


CONCLUSIONS
Coroners have different methods of determining injury at work on the death certificate, and available guidelines do not define many of the ambiguous situations encountered by coroners.
Peek-Asa
C
C
Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095-1772, USA.
McArthur
D L
DL
Kraus
J F
JF
D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D002140:California; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners; D003644:Death Certificates; D006801:Humans; D014947:Wounds and Injuries