The reliability and validity of birth certificates
- PMID: 16466348
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00016.x
The reliability and validity of birth certificates
Abstract
Objectives: To summarize the reliability and validity of birth certificate variables and encourage nurses to spearhead data improvement.
Data sources: A Medline key word search of reliability and validity of birth certificate, and a reference review of more than 60 articles were done.
Study selection: Twenty-four primary research studies of U.S. birth certificates that involved validity or reliability assessment.
Data extraction: Studies were reviewed, critiqued, and organized as either a reliability or a validity study and then grouped by birth certificate variable.
Data synthesis: The reliability and validity of birth certificate data vary considerably by item. Insurance, birthweight, Apgar score, and delivery method are more reliable than prenatal visits, care, and maternal complications. Tobacco and alcohol use, obstetric procedures, and delivery events are unreliable. Birth certificates are not valid sources of information on tobacco and alcohol use, prenatal care, maternal risk, pregnancy complications, labor, and delivery.
Conclusions: Birth certificates are a key data source for identifying causes of increasing U.S. infant mortality but have serious reliability and validity problems. Nurses are with mothers and infants at birth, so they are in a unique position to improve data quality and spread the word about the importance of reliable and valid data. Recommendations to improve data are presented.
Similar articles
-
Expanded data from the new birth certificate, 2008.Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2011 Jul 27;59(7):1-28. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2011. PMID: 21848043
-
Validation of birth certificate data in New York State.J Community Health. 2003 Oct;28(5):335-46. doi: 10.1023/a:1025492512915. J Community Health. 2003. PMID: 14535599
-
Pregnancy risks determined from birth certificate data--United States, 1989.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1992 Jul 31;41(30):556-63. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1992. PMID: 1635546
-
Nordic Medical Birth Registers in epidemiological research.Eur J Epidemiol. 1997 Feb;13(2):169-75. doi: 10.1023/a:1007379029182. Eur J Epidemiol. 1997. PMID: 9085000 Review.
-
Available instruments for research on prenatal attachment and adaptation to pregnancy.MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 1999 Jan-Feb;24(1):25-32. doi: 10.1097/00005721-199901000-00006. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 1999. PMID: 10036904 Review.
Cited by
-
Case-control study of birth characteristics and the risk of hepatoblastoma.Cancer Epidemiol. 2013 Aug;37(4):390-5. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2013.03.004. Epub 2013 Apr 1. Cancer Epidemiol. 2013. PMID: 23558166 Free PMC article.
-
The association between maternal and paternal race and preterm birth.Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2021 Jul;3(4):100353. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2021.100353. Epub 2021 Mar 20. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2021. PMID: 33757934 Free PMC article.
-
Birth and fetal death records and environmental exposures: promising data elements for environmental public health tracking of reproductive outcomes.Public Health Rep. 2009 Nov-Dec;124(6):825-30. doi: 10.1177/003335490912400610. Public Health Rep. 2009. PMID: 19894425 Free PMC article.
-
Misreport of gestational weight gain (GWG) in birth certificate data.Matern Child Health J. 2012 Jan;16(1):197-202. doi: 10.1007/s10995-010-0724-2. Matern Child Health J. 2012. PMID: 21132523
-
Inclusion of non-viable neonates in the birth record and its impact on infant mortality rates in Shelby County, Tennessee, USA.Pediatr Rep. 2010 Jun 18;2(1):e1. doi: 10.4081/pr.2010.e1. Pediatr Rep. 2010. PMID: 21589834 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
