Historical employment records as data bases for occupational disease research--a case study

Historical employment records in the B.C. coastal lumber industry were examined for adequacy for record linkage to the national Mortality Data Base. Employer, union, pension, and health and welfare plan records existed with varying amounts of personal information. The recommended list of identifiers for linkage is extensive. To evaluate the likelihood of successful linkage with the limited identifiers available in the case study, we compared our findings with the INCO-United Steelworkers mortality study carried out by McMaster University. Their evaluation of automated record linkage using limited identifiers compared to intensive direct follow-up of a sample of 1000 indicated a satisfactory rate of follow-up. This suggests that the historical records found in the case study would provide an adequate basis for research using record linkage.