The Use of Hospital In-Patient Data in the Analysis of the Injuries Sustained by Road Accident Casualties

摘要

This study aimed at compiling from existing hospital casualty records and police accident records a dataset containing information on the nature of injuries to road accident casualties and on the circumstances of the accident in which each casualty was injured. Hospital In-Patient Enquiry data and national police accident data, which comprise the source data, are described and their accuracy discussed. These records are anonymous. Consequently, matching casualty records in the two datasets was a matter of selecting the most likely match. The method of selecting matches is explained, and some of the difficulties involved discussed. It is estimated that about 50 percent of the hospital records can be readily matched and that less than 10 percent of the matches are incorrect.