title: [Characteristics of communication systems of suspected occupational disease in the Autonomous Communities, Spain].
abstract: There are several initiatives to develop systems for the notification of suspected occupational disease (OD) in different autonomous communities. The objective was to describe the status of development and characteristics of these systems implemented by the health authorities.
  
  
  
  A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on the existence of systems for the information and surveillance of suspected OD, their legal framework, responsible institution and availability of information. A specific meeting was held and a survey was designed and sent to all autonomous communities and autonomous cities (AACC). Information was collected on the existence of a regulatory standard, assigned human resources, notifiers, coverage and number of suspected OD received, processed and recognized.
  
  
  
  18 of 19 AACC responded. 10 have developed a suspected OD notification system, 3 of them supported by specific autonomic law. The notifiers were physicians of the public health services, physicians of the occupational health services and, in 2 cases, medical inspectors. 7 AACC had specific software to support the system. The OD recognition rate of suspected cases was 53% in the Basque Country; 41% in Castilla-La Mancha; 36% in Murcia; 32.6% in the Valencian Community and 31% in La Rioja.
  
  
  
  The study has revealed an heterogeneous development of suspected OD reporting systems in Spain. Although the trend is positive, only 55% of the AACC have some type of development and 39% have specific software supporting it. Therefore unequal OD recognition rates have been obtained depending on the territory.
authors.affiliation: Subdirección General de Sanidad Ambiental y Salud Laboral. Ministerio de Sanidad. Servicios Sociales e Igualdad. Madrid. España.mgarciag@msssi.es.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García Gómez
authors.affiliation: Osalan. Vizcaya. España.
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urbaneja Arrúe
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra. Pamplona. España.
authors.forename: Vega
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: García López
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad Universal y Salud Pública. Valencia. España.
authors.forename: Valentín
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Estaban Buedo
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Oviedo. España.
authors.forename: Valentín
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Suárez
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Salud. Logroño. España.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miralles Martínez-Portillo
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Santiago de Compostela. España.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: González García
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Murcia. España.
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egea Garcia
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Castilla-La Mancha. Toledo. España.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Corraliza Infanzon
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Barcelona. España.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramírez Salvador
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad y Políticas Sociales. Mérida. España.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Briz Blázquez
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Barcelona. España.
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Armengol Rosell
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Madrid. España.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cisnal Gredilla
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Murcia. España.
authors.forename: Juan Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Correa Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Osalan. Vizcaya. España.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Coto Fernández
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Salud. Sevilla. España.
authors.forename: Mª Rosario
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Díaz Peral
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Valladolid. España.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elvira Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Santander. España.
authors.forename: Iñigo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fernández Fernández
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Las Palmas. España.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García-Ramos Alonso
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad. Zaragoza. España.
authors.forename: Nieves
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínez Arguisuelas
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales, Menores e Igualdad. Ceuta. España.
authors.forename: Ana Isabel
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Rivas Pérez
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Occupational Exposure; Occupational Health; Occupational diseases; Spain; Surveillance