Effect of racial/ethnic misclassification of American Indians and Alaskan natives on Washington State death certificates, 1989-1997

P. Stehr-Green, J. Bettles, L.D. Robertson and C. Wilson

American Journal of Public Health, 2002, vol. 92, issue 3, 443-444

Abstract: Objectives. This study examined effects of racial/ethnic misclassification of American Indians and Alaskan natives on Washington State death certificates. Methods. Probabilistic record linkage were used to match the 1989-1997 state death files to the Northwest Tribal Registry. Results. We identified matches for 2819 decedents, including 414 (14.7%) who had been misclassified as non-American Indians and Alaskan natives on the death certificates. The likelihood of being correctly classified increased 3-fold for each higher level of American Indian and Alaskan native ancestry (odds ratio = 2.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.51, 3.30) and decreased by 6.9% per calendar year (95% CI = 2.0, 11.5). Conclusions. Systematic biases on death certificates in Washington State persist. Methods to reduce misclassification can improve data quality and enhance efforts to measure and reduce racial/ethnic health disparities.

Date: 2002
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:2002:92:3:443-444_9

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