Abstract
Background:
Records from occupations of workers in information systems mean much more than just sociodemographic data. In Occupational Medicine and Occupational Health Epidemiology, they are especially relevant as they indicate possible occupational risk factors.
Objective:
To estimate quality indicators of the record of occupation of asbestos-related diseases in the Mortality Information System (SIM), Brazil.
Method:
Cross-sectional study, conducted with death records of people over 16 years of age, registered in SIM, from 2000 to 2016, with diagnoses of asbestos-related diseases (ARD): mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural plaques. The “occupation” field was analyzed for completeness and consistency.
Results:
From a total of 3,764 death records, for which 60.3% (n=2,268) of missed/inconsistent occupation records were observed. Invalid occupation data accounted for 40.1% (n=1,508), mainly filled with “retired” or “housewives”, not recognized as formal job titles. The poor occupancy record quality among ARD records was over 50.0% in all regions of the country.
Conclusions:
The quality of the occupation records in SIM was poor for both ARD and other diagnoses, especially regarding the completeness and consistency of the data, in relation to the Brazilian Classification of Occupations.
Keywords:
data accuracy; occupations; information systems; death certificates; mesothelioma; asbestosis