Information for Funeral Directors

What to know

• The information funeral directors collect on death certificates is important to public health.
• When completing a death certificate, collect the best information related to a decedent's longest-held job, also called the "usual" occupation.
• Collect a detailed description of both the usual occupation and corresponding industry.
• Remember, occupation is different from industry.
• View our 7-part training video series below for more tips.

Why%20good%20data%20are%20important" title="Why good data are important">

Why good data are important

The information funeral directors collect in Electronic Death Registry Systems (EDRSs) is important to public health. If the occupation and industry information on a death certificate is incomplete or inaccurate, researchers cannot correctly identify links between a cause of death and a specific occupation or industry.

How these data are used

• Detect new illnesses or injuries occurring in relation to specific industries or occupations.
• Monitor known associations between job hazards and illnesses (e.g., Black Lung Disease in the coal industry reemerged in 2019).
• Calculate the burden of illness for specific industries or occupations to prioritize research.
• Guide prevention efforts and more in-depth research on links between work and health.

Usual%20=%20the%20longest-held" title="Usual = the longest-held">

Usual = the longest-held

Death certificates ask for USUAL occupation. Usual occupation is the job the person had the longest. This may not be their most recent or current occupation, or the one that paid the highest salary.

Occupation vs. Industry

Occupation is what the person did for a living.

Industry is the type of business or activity where the person worked.

Occupation

Occupation is what the person did for a living or the type of job they had—usually, this is the job title. Examples include architect, registered nurse, computer programmer, and medical laboratory technician, elementary school teacher, and auto mechanic.

Industry

Industry is the type of business or activity where the person worked. Industry pertains only to what the business does and not what the worker did at that business. Examples include a movie theater, an airline, a general hospital, a golf course, a high school, and a beer bottling facility.

Tips to get the best information

Guidelines for Reporting Occupation and Industry on Death Certificates

This document updates the guidelines written in 1988 by the National Center for Health Statistics (N...

Directrices para reportar la ocupación y el tipo de industria en los certificados de defunción

Download

Download

If **ever **employed, complete the job information.

• If you determine that they were never employed, please indicate "Never worked."
• Fill out the occupation and industry information for every decedent ever employed in their life.

Do **not **enter retired.

• If a person was retired, that generally indicates they had an occupation at some point.
• Record the longest-held occupation and corresponding industry.

Do **not **enter disabled.

• People who had a disability often still worked with their disability or had a job before the disability.
• If having a disability prevented them from ever having a job, please enter "Never Worked."

Ask for occupation, then industry.

• It is better to ask what the decedent's occupation was first and then ask their industry.
• This is because more people are familiar with a person's job and may be confused about their industry.

For vague answers, prompt for detail.

• For occupation, for a vague response like "consultant," ask, "What type of consultant were they?"
• For industry, if they give a vague answer ask, "What did their company do or make?"

Collect **both **occupation and industry.

• Job hazards for the same occupation can vary depending on the industry where the person worked.
• Please do your best to get both.

Training video series

The following video series was developed to offer guidance when documenting industry and occupation on a death certificate.

Did you know?

These videos are also available in Spanish! Serie de videos sobre la recolección de datos sobre la ocupación y la industria

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 1

Transcript Low Resolution Video

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 1

Part 1: Introduction This introductory video provides an overview of why occupation and industry dat...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 2

Transcript Low Resolution Video

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 2

Part 2: Defining Usual Occupation and Industry Part 2 discusses the differences between occupation a...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 3

Part 3: Common Occupation Responses and How to Improve Them Part 3 focuses on common occupation resp...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 4

Part 4: Common Industry Responses and How to Improve Them Part 4 focuses on common industry response...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 5

Transcript Low Resolution Video

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 5

Part 5: Special Issues: Self-employed, Retired, People Who Had a Disability, Company Names, and Acro...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 6

Transcript Low Resolution Video

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 6

Part 6: Example: Looking at Occupation and Industry Over a Lifetime Part 6 walks through the life of...

Low ResolutionTranscript

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 7

Transcript Low Resolution Video

Recording Industry and Occupation on Death Certificates Video Series Part 7

Part 7: Review Part 7 reviews the main points we want funeral directors to remember from the series.

Low ResolutionTranscript

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Material produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a work of the United States government and is in the public domain.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.