title: Evaluating the accuracy of a geographic closed-ended approach to ethnicity measurement, a practical alternative.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Measuring ethnicity accurately is important for identifying ethnicity variations in disease risk. We evaluated the degree of agreement and accuracy of maternal ethnicity measured using the new standardized closed-ended geographically based ethnicity question and geographic reclassification of open-ended ethnicity questions from the Canadian census.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospectively designed study of respondent agreement of mothers of healthy children aged 1-5 years recruited through the TARGet Kids! practice-based research network. For the primary analysis, the degree of agreement between geographic reclassification of the Canadian census maternal ethnicity variables and the new geographically based closed-ended maternal ethnicity variable completed by the same respondent was evaluated using a kappa analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight hundred sixty-two mothers who completed both measures of ethnicity were included in the analysis. The kappa agreement statistic for the two definitions of maternal ethnicity was 0.87 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.90) indicating good agreement. Overall accuracy of the measurement was 93%. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 83% to 100% and 96% to 100%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new standardized closed-ended geographically based ethnicity question represents a practical alternative to widely used open-ended ethnicity questions. It may reduce risk of misinterpretation of ethnicity by respondents, simplify analysis, and improve the accuracy of ethnicity measurement.
authors: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: omandj@smh.ca.
authors: Jessica A
authors: JA
authors: Omand
authors: Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Carsley
authors: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada; Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors: Pauline B
authors: PB
authors: Darling
authors: Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Patricia C
authors: PC
authors: Parkin
authors: Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Catherine S
authors: CS
authors: Birken
authors: Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Marcelo L
authors: ML
authors: Urquia
authors: Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Khovratovich
authors: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Jonathon L
authors: JL
authors: Maguire
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019352:Censuses; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009035:Mothers; D009864:Ontario; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Child health; Children; Ethnicity; Kappa statistic; Measurement error; Pediatrics