The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors.
OBJECTIVE
The authors sought to ascertain the methods used by funeral directors to determine the demographic information recorded on death certificates.


METHODS
Standardized questionnaires were administered to funeral directors in five urban locations in the U.S. In addition, personnel on four Indian reservations were interviewed. Study sites were selected for diverse racial/ethnic populations and variability in recording practices; funeral homes were selected by stratified random sampling.


RESULTS
Fifty-two percent of responding funeral directors reported receiving no formal training in death certification. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported finding certain demographic items difficult to complete--26% first specified race as the problematic item, and 25% first specified education. The decedent's race was "sometimes" or "often" determined through personal knowledge of the family by 58% of respondents; 43% reported "sometimes" or "often" determining race by observation. Only three respondents reported that occupation was a problematic item.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors recommend that the importance of demographic data and the instructions for data collection be clarified for funeral directors, that standard data collection worksheets be developed, and that training videos be developed.
Hahn
Robert A
RA
Division of Prevention Research and Analytic Methods, Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. rah1@cdc.gov
Wetterhall
Scott F
SF
Gay
George A
GA
Harshbarger
Dorothy S
DS
Burnett
Carol A
CA
Parrish
Roy Gibson
RG
Orend
Richard J
RJ
D003142:Communication; D003644:Death Certificates; D003710:Demography; D030881:Disclosure; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000145:classification*; D005655:Funeral Rites; D040361:Healthy People Programs; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000145:classification; D019451:Information Management / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D040442:Public Health Informatics / Q000592:standards*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000145:classification*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population