[About job classifications].
BACKGROUND
In the various existing information systems, the work-related variables (occupation, job position, and economic sector) are not always classified in the same manner.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a classification of occupations and economic sectors that could be used for the majority of analyses of data on work-related morbidity and mortality.


METHODS
The classification of occupations was created with the following criteria in mind: comparability with the currently used classification systems ISTAT (the National Institute of Statistics) 1971, 1981, 1991 and INAIL (the National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents & Diseases); a limited number of items, so as to ensure acceptable statistical power; maximum variance among groups and minimum variance within groups, in terms of the three dimensions of greatest interest for defining exhausting jobs. To this end, three groups of experts were consulted, one group of experts in the analysis of occupational differences in the occurrence of accidents and two groups of experts on occupational health.


RESULTS
The three different sets of aggregates produced by the three groups of experts were combined into 56 items, referred to as the "Classification of occupations for the surveillance of differences in mortality and morbidity".


CONCLUSIONS
The classification can be used in future analyses of occupational risks and injuries for the comparison of different information sources and time periods.
Pasqualini
O
O
Servizio regionale di Epidemiologia, ASL 5 Grugliasco (TO). osvaldo.pasqualini@epi.piemonte.it
D006801:Humans; D009790:Occupations / Q000145:classification*