COVID-19 mortality among Massachusetts workers and the association with telework ability, 2020.

Background: Working outside the home put some workers at risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and might partly explain elevated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates in the first months of the pandemic in certain groups of Massachusetts workers. To further investigate this premise, we examined COVID-19 mortality among Massachusetts workers, with a specific focus on telework ability based on occupation.

Methods: COVID-19-associated deaths between January 1 and December 31, 2020 among Massachusetts residents aged 18-64 years were analyzed.

Bayesian decision support for coding occupational injury data.

Introduction: Studies on autocoding injury data have found that machine learning algorithms perform well for categories that occur frequently but often struggle with rare categories. Therefore, manual coding, although resource-intensive, cannot be eliminated. We propose a Bayesian decision support system to autocode a large portion of the data, filter cases for manual review, and assist human coders by presenting them top k prediction choices and a confusion matrix of predictions from Bayesian models.

Impact of differential injury reporting on the estimation of the total number of work-related amputations.

Background: A capture-recapture analysis was performed to estimate the total number of work-related amputations. We examined the impact of misclassification due to differential injury reporting on the estimate of total number of work-related amputations.

Methods: Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) samples and workers' compensation records (WC) were used to estimate the total number of work-related amputations.

Use of multiple data sources for surveillance of work-related amputations in Massachusetts, comparison with official estimates and implications for national surveillance.

Background: Accurate surveillance of work-related injuries is needed at national and state levels. We used multiple sources for surveillance of work-related amputations, compared findings with Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) estimates, and assessed generalizability to national surveillance.

Methods: Three data sources were used to enumerate work-related amputations in Massachusetts, 2007-2008.