Research question-Does a database of hospital admission data linked to police road traYc accident (RTA) reports produce less biased information for the injury prevention policymaker, planner, and practitioner than police RTA reports alone? Design-Data linkage study. Study population-Non-fatal injury victims of road traYc crashes in southern England who were admitted to hospital. Data sources-Hospital admissions and police RTA reports. Main outcome measures-The estimated proportion of road traYc crashes admitted to hospital that were included on the linked database; distributions by age, sex, and road user groups: (A) for all RTA injury admissions and (B) for RTA serious injury admissions defined by length of stay or by nature of injury. Results-An estimated 50% of RTA injury admissions were included on the linked database. When assessing bias, admissions data were regarded as the "gold standard". The distributions of casualties by age, sex, and type of road user showed major diVerences between the admissions data and the police RTA injury data of comparable severity. The linked data showed smaller diVerences when compared with admissions data. For RTA serious injury admissions, the distributions by age and sex were approximately the same for the linked data compared with admissions data, and there were small but statistically significant diVerences between the distributions across road user group for the linked data compared with hospital admissions. Conclusion-These results suggest that investigators could be misinformed if they base their analysis solely on police RTA data, and that information derived from the linked database is less biased than that from police RTA data alone. A national linked dataset of road traYc crash data should be produced from hospital admissions and police RTA data for use by policymakers, planners and practitioners. (Injury Prevention 2001;7:234-241)

The fatal and non-fatal injuries related to work in commercial fishermen operating out of New Zealand ports is described. Three data sources were used to provide information on the nature of the injuries sustained, as well as their circumstances. High rates of fatal and non-fatal injury were found, with most deaths attributed to drowning, and concerning a vessel operating in rough seas or poor weather. A higher fatal injury rate was found for the west coast of New Zealand when compared with the rest of the country. This is likely to be due to a combination of factors, including rougher sea conditions, a lower density of fishing vessels operating in the area, and the siting of many west coast fishing ports at dangerous river and harbour bars. Injuries to hands and fingers related to the use of winches, machinery and knives were common, as were back strains associated with lifting, and a variety ofinjuries resulting from falls. There is need for a comprehensive injury information source, such as an industry based register specific for fishing, so that effective preventative strategies and their evaluation can be developed.Work-related injury is an important cause of morbidity and mortality for many groups in society."There are indications that commercial fishing is one of New Zealand's more hazardous occupations.Recent research by Cryer and Flemming' has suggested that the rate and number of fatal injuries related to commercial fishing in New Zealand is high.New Zealand has a small but important fishing industry, supplying domestic and export markets. In 1984, it occupied about 3200 commercial fishermen, and fish exports contributed 4-42% ofNew Zealand's total export earnings.3 Traditionally, it has been dominated by small fishing vessels (< 12 metres in length) working the inshore fishery. This is still the situation in the 1980s, although there has been an increasing trend towards larger vessels exploiting the deeper waters of the outer exclusive economic zone.4In New Zealand, a survey of a sample of South Island commercial fishermen performed by the Department of Health in 1980, showed that these workers perceived their major work related injury problems to include back injuries, noise induced deafness, and penetration injuries from knives, fish spikes, and fish hooks.5The combination ofa cold, wet, and noisy working environment, long hours of work, and the social problems associated with prolonged periods away from home appeared to contribute greatly to work related health problems. Many of the injuries were attributed, at least in part, to the unstable working platform due to the constant movement of the boat.A British study of fisherman over the period 1961-80 showed a high work related rate offatal injury that caused concern in the United Kingdom.6 Other British studies79 also indicated that deep sea trawler fishermen have a particularly high risk of morbidity and mortality resulting from injury related to work.There has been little research to determine the size, nature, geographic distribution, or...

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The J- and inverted J-shaped relationships between alcohol consumption and service use are partly explained by a subgroup of abstainers who are older, of less good health, and who use hospital, clinic, and domiciliary healthcare services much more than safe level drinkers.

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