Accuracy of Death Certifications and the Implications for Studying Disease Burdens

Pierce, J. R.; Denison, A. V.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_18

J. R. Pierce &
A. V. Denison

549 Accesses
4 Citations

Abstract:

For at least five centuries, death certificates had been used by governments and scientists to judge the health of populations, study epidemiologic associations, and formulate public policy. In most modern countries, the maintenance, dissemination, and study of vital statistics is an important governmental function. Death certificates are also important legal documents. Many previous studies have established significant inaccuracies in the cause of death as reported on death certificates. Other studies have reported inaccuracies in demographic information, such as race, occupation, and alcohol use, as reported on death certificates. Despite these limitations, death certificates remain an important tool for researchers, population health scientists, and policymakers. Strategies to improve the accuracy of death certificates include education of certifiers, performance of more autopsies, and comparison of information on death certificates to similar information contained in other databases.

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Abbreviations

ICD:: International Classification of Disease
UK:: United Kingdom
US:: United States of America
WHO:: World Health Organization

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J. R. Pierce
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A. V. Denison
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Editors and Affiliations

Dept. Nutrition and Dietetics Nutritional Sciences Research Division School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, King's College London, Franklin‐Wilkins Building 150 Stamford Street, SE1 9NH, London, UK
Victor R. Preedy (Prof.) (Prof.)
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Health Science Center 1295 N. Martin, P.O. Box 245155, 85724-5155, Tucson, AZ
Ronald R. Watson (Prof.) (Prof.)

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Pierce, J.R., Denison, A.V. (2010). Accuracy of Death Certifications and the Implications for Studying Disease Burdens. In: Preedy, V.R., Watson, R.R. (eds) Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_18

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_18
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-78664-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-78665-0
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