title: An evaluation of case completeness for New Zealand Coronial case files held on the Australasian National Coronial Information System (NCIS).
abstract: Large administrative databases provide powerful opportunities for examining the epidemiology of injury. The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) contains Coronial data from Australia and New Zealand (NZ); however, only closed cases are stored for NZ. This paper examines the completeness of NZ data within the NCIS and its impact upon the validity and utility of this database. A retrospective review of the capture of NZ cases of quad-related fatalities held in the NCIS was undertaken by identifying outstanding Coronial cases held on the NZ Coronial Management System (primary source of NZ Coronial data). NZ data held on the NCIS database were incomplete due to the non-capture of closed cases and the unavailability of open cases. Improvements to the information provided on the NCIS about the completeness of NZ data are needed to improve the validity of NCIS-derived findings and the overall utility of the NCIS for research.
authors.affiliation: Injury Prevention Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Rebbecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lilley
authors.affiliation: Injury Prevention Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davie
authors.affiliation: Injury Prevention Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality*; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000068598:Data Accuracy; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003644:Death Certificates / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality*