Accuracy of birth certificate data by risk factors and outcomes: analysis of data from New Jersey.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the accuracy of birth certificate data varies by risk factors and birth outcomes.


METHODS
We reanalyzed data from a validation study of birth certificate data in New Jersey, focusing on subgroups of mothers according to marital status, age, race, ethnicity, English-language proficiency, prenatal care, transfer status, birthweight, and gestational age.


RESULTS
Underreporting of birth certificate data elements varies by maternal characteristics (particularly English-language proficiency), transfer status, and birth outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
It is important to consider subgroup variations in data quality when birth certificate data are used for research. Additional studies are needed to explore the sources of variation in data quality and to assess the quality for additional subgroups, across subgroups in other states, in low-risk populations, and of new data items that were introduced in the 2003 revision of the US Standard Certificate of Live Birth.
Reichman
Nancy E
NE
Department of Pediatrics, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. reichmne@umdnj.edu
Schwartz-Soicher
Ofira
O
D000328:Adult; D001719:Birth Certificates; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009515:New Jersey / Q000453:epidemiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity