The suitability of using death certificates as a data source for cancer mortality assessment in Turkey.

AIM: To compare the quality of the 2008 cancer mortality data of the Istanbul Directorate of Cemeteries (IDC) with the 2008 data of International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), and discuss the suitability of using this databank for estimations of cancer mortality in the future. METHODS: We used 2008 and 2010 death records of the IDC and compared it to TUIK and IARC data. RESULTS: According to the WHO statistics, in Turkey in 2008 there were 67255 estimated cancer deaths. As the population of Turkey was 71517100, the cancer mortality rate was 9.4 per 10000. According to the IDC statistics, the cancer mortality rate in Istanbul in 2008 was 5.97 per 10000. CONCLUSION: IDC estimates were higher than WHO probably because WHO bases its estimates on a sample group and because of the restrictions of IDC data collection method. Death certificates could be a reliable and accurate data source for mortality statistics if the problems of data collection are solved.

Undergraduate training in occupational health at Kocaeli University Medical School: a Turkish experience.

Processes and conditions of production may produce unhealthy effects. Both must therefore be included in the education of health care personnel. Vocational training in occupational health at Kocaeli University Medical School, Turkey aims to demonstrate students that occupational health is a specific and important area of work within the context of primary health care. This research is a cross-sectional study. It was planned as a three stage study: 1- reviewing literature and grouping of countries according to their occupational health curricula; 2- reviewing the occupational health programs of medical schools in Turkey, and 3- recommendations for an occupational health curriculum to include an occupational health vocational training period of one week in the two month public health education program for medical interns. During this experience, senior students would be assigned to workplace health units. Of 283 medical schools found on the web, with occupational health teaching, only 20 have a curriculum that includes training in workplace health care units. In Turkey, there is no structured practical education on occupational health. In the third part of this study, we initiated at Kocaeli University School of Medicine's curriculum, a new occupational health education model applied in the workplace health units of factories. Practical experience of occupational health in the workplace is useful in introducing the community-based approach to occupational health in undergraduate medical education and understanding the determinants of health in industry.

Occupational carbon monoxide poisoning among West Virginia workers' compensation claims: diagnosis, treatment duration, and utilization.

Incidence rates and characterizations of occupational carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in terms of sources of exposures, diagnosis, treatment, and health care utilization are critical for public health planning. We identified 182 CO poisoning cases occurring over a 6-year period (IR = 4.3/100000 worker-years) in the West Virginia workers' compensation data. Frequent sources of poisoning were gas-powered engines (28%) and furnaces (20%). Minimum treatment duration ranged from 1 day to 8 years with significant differences in mental health comorbidities between cases treated within 1 year compared with cases treated for more than 1 year (OR = 20.75; 95% CI = 3.5-128.4). The average cost (medical and wage loss replacement) for CO claims was dollars 2130 and median lost time was 45 days. CO poisoning could lead to prolonged disability and treatment in patients with mental health comorbidities, suggesting a possible role for early intervention.

Miscellaneous occupational lung diseases.

A case is presented of a rare occupational lung disease for which the workplace etiology may have been overlooked. The authors review 4 such diseases, which are important to recognize not only because cessation of exposure can lead to clinical improvement, but also because other cases of these conditions may be identified in the workplace.