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Consistency between Vital Rates from Sample Registration System and Those Based on Census Age Returns: An Assessment Using the Variable – r Method

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:05:47 GMT

The paper compares vital rates obtained from the sample registration system and population census in India. The paper was prepared by Suryakant Yadav and Subrata Lahiri from International Institute for Population Sciences in India. The paper was submitted to the Conference of Population Association of America in 2010.

Comparison of Fertility Estimates from India’s Sample Registration System and National Family Health Survey

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:57:28 GMT

Abstract: This Subject Report compares fertility trends estimated alternatively from India’s Sample Registration System (SRS) and the 1992–93 National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Fertility trends are estimated for the 15-year period of 1978–92. A goal of the analysis is to explain discrepancies between the two sets of estimates and to arrive at an improved assessment of the true trend in fertility.

The results indicate that, since the late 1970s, fertility has fallen faster than indicated by the SRS but more slowly than indicated by the NFHS. For the most recent five-year period, 1988–92, estimates of the general fertility rate derived from the two sources coincide, but for earlier years the rate estimated from the NFHS is progressively higher than the rate estimated from the SRS. The analysis suggests three main reasons for this divergence in earlier years: (1) a higher rate of underregistration of births in earlier years in the SRS, (2) backward displacement of births in the NFHS, and (3) omission of births in the NFHS in the first but not the second or third five-year periods before the survey.

Because of the displacement and omission of births in the first five years before the survey, the general fertility rate derived from the NFHS for this period appears to be too low. Yet it is identical to the general fertility rate estimated from the SRS for the same period. This suggests that the SRS underregistered births to the same extent that the NFHS displaced and omitted births occurring during this period. In other words, the true level of fertility during 1988–92 was probably somewhat higher than indicated by either the NFHS or the SRS.

The NFHS estimate of the general fertility rate for the full 15-year period of 1978–92 is affected very little, if at all, by displacement. But it is affected to some extent by the omission of births during the first five years of the period and therefore is undoubtedly somewhat too low. Despite this omission, the NFHS estimate of the general fertility rate for the 15-year period is 10 percent higher than the SRS estimate for the same period. This difference implies that the SRS underregistered births during 1978–92 by at least 10 percent. This level of underregistration is considerably higher than indicated by evaluation studies conducted by the Office of the Registrar General, and it suggests that the improvement in birth registration completeness over time in the SRS has been much greater than previously thought.

The curve of fertility by woman’s age tends to be shifted to the right (that is, to older ages) in the SRS, relative to the NFHS. This relative shift appears to be caused mainly by greater misreporting of ages in the SRS than in the NFHS.

The analysis was also done for individual states. Discrepancies between the NFHS and the SRS in estimated fertility trends tend to be smaller in states with higher literacy rates than in other states.

The paper was prepared by International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India and East-West Center Program on Population, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. on National Family Health Survey Subject Reports, Number 4, in September 1997

Birth registration in India: status and strategies for improvement

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:35:37 GMT

Strategy paper produced by Plan International for India in improving its birth registration system. It is not clear when this paper was produced.

Civil registration in Kerela, India

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:43:09 GMT

The attached document was extracted from the Annual Vital Statistics Report 2007, issued by the Government of kerela, India. The document explains the organizational structure of the civil registration system in Kerela, coverage of birth and death registration, as well as quality of data such as delays in registration.

The Annual Vital Statistics Report was issued by the Vital Statistics Division, Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerela in 2009.

An Overview of the Sample Registration System in India

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:29:58 GMT

Abstract: There are four major sources of vital statistics in India, namely; (a) the Sample Registration System (SRS), (b) the Civil Registration System (CRS), (c) Indirect estimates from the decennial census and (d) Indirect estimates from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS). The SRS is the most regular source of demographic statistics in India. It is based on a system of dual recording of births and deaths in fairly representative sample units spread all over the country. The SRS provides annual estimates of (a) population composition, (b) fertility, (c) mortality, and (d) medical attention at the time of birth or death which give some idea about access to medical care. The population composition from SRS coupled with the decennial census counts, enables fairly reliable estimate of population in the intercensal periods. Average time to publication of SRS annual reports is about two years. SRS estimates are generally valid and reliable for the country as a whole and for bigger states with more than 10 million population. Recently the sample size of SRS has been increased to allow for estimates by natural divisions within the bigger states. Evaluations during 1970s and 1980s showed that completeness of recording of births and deaths by the SRS, was generally good, and errors in recording of events minimal. However, systematic evaluation of the SRS has not been taken up for quite some time. Indirect estimates for 1990s and after suggests that registration completeness has worsened and interstate variations widened. A pluralistic evaluation framework is recommended.

The paper was presented at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference & Global Health Information Forum 2010.

Author: Prasanta Mahapatra, Institute of Health Systems, Hyderabad, AP500004, INDIA; Email:pmahapat@ihs.org.in

Quality of death statistics - Finland

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:20:50 GMT

The document reviews the quality of death statistics in Finland, including relevance of the data, methodology used, accuracy and timeliness of the data, accessibility and comparability of data as well as coherence and consistency of data with other statistics produced by Statistics Finland.

The document was produced for the 2009 data and obtained from the Statistics Finland website in 2010.

Quality of birth statistics - Finland

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:19:27 GMT

The document reviews the quality of birth statistics in Finland, including relevance of the data, methodology used, accuracy and timeliness of the data, accessibility and comparability of data as well as coherence and consistency of data with other statistics produced by Statistics Finland.

The document was produced for the 2009 data and obtained from the Statistics Finland website in 2010.

Quality of adoption statistics - Finland

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:33:50 GMT

The document reviews the quality of adoption statistics in Finland, including relevance of the data, methodology used, accuracy and timeliness of the data, accessibility and comparability of data as well as coherence and consistency of data with other statistics produced by Statistics Finland.

The document was produced for the 2009 data and obtained from the Statistics Finland website in 2010.

Registration of births, stillbirths and infant deaths in Jamaica

admin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:33:54 GMT

This study addresses an important obstacle to registration coverage in the developing countries where the informant is a member of the family. The implementation of the recommendation to transfer the responsibility for the registration of hospital births and deaths (including stillbirths) to the medical institution where the event occurs should do much to improve the completeness of registration of livebirths, deaths and stillbirths.

This paper was previously pulished in the International Journal of Epidemiology and is presented in this publication series with the kind permission of the Editor of the journal.

The technical paper was published in 1998 (#72) by IIVRS.

Comparability of the death certificate and the 1986 national mortality followback survey

admin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:30:39 GMT

In any data collection system the quality of the information collected should be one of the primary concerns. In a civil registration and vital statistics system. there are a number of important uses to be made of the data both by individuals and by the various users of the aggregated data. However the means for assessing the accuracy of the reported vital statistics information is not often easily available. Vital records followback surveys provide one kind of tool for looking at the quality of the information.

Vital records followback surveys are so named because they typically begin with a file of vital records which provide a sampling frame from which a sample of the records are "followed back" to the informant or provider of the information on the record. This technique permits collection of more detailed or different information than can be collected on a registration document, while at the same time allows comparisons between the two data collection methods for selected items appearing in both systems.

This paper reports on a study which compares the demographic data reported on a sample of death certificates with the responses to similar demographic items asked on a questionnaire sent to the informants who had originally provided the data for the death certificates. Although there was no way to tell which of the two sources, registration information or survey response, was correct when they were not in agreement, the measure of disagreement for each item studied serves as an indicator of the quality for that item. Thus, measures of disagreement for items such as age, race, marital status, occupation and place of death are derived from two different methodologies and at two points in time for a sample of decedents.

This paper is a somewhat abbreviated version of the following report: Poe, Gail et al Comparability of the death certificate and the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey. National Center for Health Statistics.. VITAL HEALTH STAT 2 (118) 1993.

The technical paper was published in 1997 (#68) by IIVRS.

Comparability of the birth certificate and 1988 maternal and infant health study

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:31:53 GMT

Although improving the coverage of birth and death registration remains the most important problem in many countries. they must nevertheless pay attention to the quality of the information reported. In this way the civil registration and vital statistics systems will be able to provide data users with reliable information which can be effectively used in a variety of ways even before complete coverage of vital events is attained.

This paper reports on a study aimed at assessing the quality of data reported on birth certificates in the United States. Information from birth certificates is widely utilized in the United States, both for producing statistical tabulations and for research in areas concerning maternal and child health. The method used in this study to assess the quality of birth certificate data was to compare the information reported for a sample of births in a national natality survey with the information from the corresponding birth certificates. As the authors of this paper state, "it is important to note that there is no systematic method for determining whether response on the birth certificate or the maternal survey is the most accurate, should they differ". However, significant differences between the two data sources can help identify those data items for which accuracy of reporting needs to be improved.

This paper is a somewhat abbreviated version of the following report: Schoendorf KC, Parker .JD. Batkhan LZ, Kiely JL Comparability of the birth certificate and the 1988 Maternal and Infant Health Survey National Center for Health Statistics VITAL HEALTH STAT 2 (116) 1993

The technical paper was published in 1996 (#64) by IIVRS.

Comparative analysis of deaths registered in the civil registration of Cameroon: the case of the Mayoralties of Yaoundé (1986 - 1993)

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:39:42 GMT

Programs to improve the coverage of civi 1 registration systems need to be carefully evaluated to determine if the actions being taken are actually having the desired effect. As this paper demonstrates merely establishing more registration centers does not necessarily improve coverage of death reporting. Socio-cultural factors which appear to be the reason for lack of improvement in the case of Yaounde need to be addressed if coverage of death reporting is to improve. Suggestions for bringing about improvement of death reporting are presented.

Mrs. Ellen Jamison translated this paper into English from the original French.

The technical paper was published in 1995 (#62) by IIVRS.

The evaluation of the completeness of death registration in the presence of high net out-migration: the case example of Mauritius

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:21:02 GMT

As the developing countries continue in their efforts to improve their civil registration and vital statistics systems, it is important for them to be able to evaluate their progress. For estimating the completeness of death reporting, a number of indirect estimation techniques have been developed. These techniques assume a closed population, and so their usefulness for countries which have high rates of net in or out migration is a matter of concern. The author of this paper applies the techniques to the case of Mauritius, an island nation with high net out migration, to study the impact of this demographic condition on the estimates of completeness of death reporting.

The technical paper was published in 1995 (#61) by IIVRS.

An evaluation of vital registers as sources of data for infant mortality rates in Cameroon

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:38:14 GMT

Improvement of infant health has been a key objective of public health and population programs in both developing and developed countries. Monitoring of such programs through the measurement of infant mortality has occupied the attention of health statisticians and demographers in many countries. As this paper demonstrates, measuring changes in this important indicator is not an easy task because of the problems encountered in the accurate counting of both births and of infant deaths. Although it is difficult to verify the responses in this household survey because of the anonymity provided to respondents, the results and discussion provide some very useful suggestions for improving the registration of births and infant deaths in Cameroon and by extension in other developing countries. Their most important conclusion perhaps is that "a mechanism of registration that uses medical institutions may substantially improve coverage and timeliness of registration."

The technical paper was published in 1994 (#59) by IIVRS.

Techniques for evaluating completeness of death reporting

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:29:29 GMT

Knowing about the completeness of death reporting is essential for a number of reasons. First we need to know how complete death reporting is so that we can take remedial actions to improve the situation. Second,

when we know how complete death reporting is, we can make the adjustments needed to permit us to use the death rates derived from death registration in such demographic tasks as projecting future populations. The age-and-sex-specific death rates used in these projections may be calculated when registered data on deaths and on the corresponding population by age and sex are available. Even when such data appear to be complete, however, they should not be accepted blindly when being used for such purposes as constructing a life table. Various possibilities exist for age misreporting in population data; such errors may be even more prevalent in age reporting of deaths, causing irregularities in the pattern of age-specific death rates that do not correspond to reality.

This paper presents a number of techniques for evaluating and adjusting data on deaths by age and sex for both missed events (incomplete coverage) and for misreporting of age. In addition to a description of the techniques, computer programs are described which may be used to carry out the required calculations. The few computer programs presented here are but a small portion of the extensive collection of such programs designed to facilitate demographic analysis developed by the U.S Bureau of the Census and soon to be available in the publication POPULATION ANALYSIS WITH MICROCOMPUTERS and by the UnIted Nations Population Division in MortPak.

The technical paper was published in 1994 (#57) by IIVRS.

Death registration and mortality statistics in Colombia

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:57:26 GMT

This paper is being published in English with the kind pennission of the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) of Colanbia. It was originally published in Spanish in their Boletin Mensual de Estadistica,

No. 447. The paper presents a brief history, an evaluation, and recommendations for improvement of death registration in Colombia.

The technical paper was published in 1993 (#54) by IIVRS.

Birth 2009 - Finland

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:37:24 GMT

The report presents TFR for Finland for the period 1971- 2009. Information on the quality of birth data is also covered. The report was published in 2010.

Universal Birth Registration: Mobile National Civil Registration in Cambodia

admin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:23:37 GMT

The document provides information on the pilot project on mobile national civil registration in Cambodia. Plans to further launch the project at national level are discussed.

The document was prepared by Plan International Cambodia.

Bhutan Medical and Health Council Guidelines for Writing Medical Certificates and Reports - 2009

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:43:52 GMT

This guideline outlines the medico-legal obligations of the medical and health professionals, registered with the Bhutan Medical and Health Council, in relation to writing medical certificates and reports. Items relevant include the issurance of birth and death certificate as well as certifying causes of deaths.

This guideline shall come into force from March 13, 2009 corresponding to 18th day of the 1st month of Earth Female Ox Year.

Maternal Death Review Form, Hospital - Bhutan

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:37:04 GMT

The form is administered by the Ministry of Health in Bhutan, for maternal deaths occurred in hospitals. The form is downloaded from the Bhutan Ministry of Health website in 2010.

Perinatal/Neonatal Mortality Committee Review Form - Bhutan

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:25:29 GMT

The form is used to review by a committee the cause of death information and other perinatal death related information. The form is obtained from the Bhutan Ministry of Health website in 2010.

Status of Mortality Statistics of Bangladesh

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:22:20 GMT

The article made an attempt to highlight the recording and reporting mechanisms of mortality data as regards in-hospital deaths as well as deaths occurring in the community, completeness of the death registration, use of ICD guidelines, utilization of the mortality data, death registration Acts and Enforcement.

The article was published in 2007 by WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia.

The Current Status of Fetal Death Registration in the United States

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:33:29 GMT

Various limitations of fetal death data are discussed in this paper and improvements which could be made in registration are indicated. Impending revisions of standard certificates make such changes particularly pertinent.

The article was prepared by Helen C. Chase, published in 1966 on the American Journal of Public Health, Vol 56, No. 10, pages 1734-1744

limitations of fetal death data are discussed in this paper and improvements which could be made in registration are indicated. Impending revisions of standard certificates make such changes particularly pertinent.The article was prepared by Helen C. Chase, published in 1966 on the American Journal of Public Health, Vol 56, No. 10, pages 1734-1744

A Study of Infant Mortality from Linked Records: Registration Aspects

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:39:21 GMT

Some findings are presented from a linked records study of infant mortality among the cohort of live births in the United States in 1960. Advantages of the record linkage techniques are developed.

The article was prepared by Helen C. Chase in 1970, published on the American Journal of Public Health Vol. 60 No. 11, Pages 2181-2196.

Completeness of Birth Registration in the United States in 1940

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:25:39 GMT

The article describes in details the steps taken to assess the completeness of birth registration in the US in 1940, by comparing infant cards (cards with information about the children born in four months before the 1940 US population census) with registration records in each State. The assessment shows that most of the US States were able to maintain 90% and above level of registration, while some are below 90% coverage.

The article was prepared by Robert F. Lenhart in 1943 and published on American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 33, June 1943, Pages 685-690.