Recall of occupational injuries: A comparison of questionnaire and diary data

Retrospective self-reports have found to be susceptible to recall errors. Several factors might be related to the accuracy of recalled memories, such as time interval. In order to estimate the amount of recall errors of occupational injuries, this study compares daily records of injuries with retrospective questionnaire reports of injuries experienced during the last month. Eighty two employees filled out both daily reports of injuries and retrospective self-report questionnaires. The present study shows that retrospective self-reports of injuries are considerably under-reported compared to daily reports. Therefore, it is recommended that researchers and others adjust retrospective data in line with the result of this study.