Ra. Hahn, Why race is differentially classified on US birth and infant death certificates: An examination of two hypotheses, EPIDEMIOLOG, 10(2), 1999, pp. 108-111
Citations number
16
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
Among U.S. infants who die within a year of birth, classification of race o
n birth and death certificates may differ. I investigate two hypotheses: (1
) The race of infants of different-race parents is more likely to be differ
entially classified at birth and death than the race of infants of same-rac
e parents. (2) States with a greater proportion of infant deaths of a given
race are less likely to differentially classify infants of that race on bi
rth and death certificates than states with a smaller proportion of infant
deaths of that race. Using the Linked Birth/Infant Death data tape for 1983
-1985, I assessed the first hypothesis by comparing rates of differential c
lassification for infants with different race parents and same-race parents
. To assess the second hypothesis, I examined the correlations between the
proportion of infant deaths of each race in each state and the proportion o
f infants of that race consistently classified. Differential racial classif
ication on birth and death certificates was more than 31 times as likely wi
th different-race than with same-race parents. The second hypothesis was co
nfirmed for white, black, American Indian, and Japanese infants. As the US.
population becomes more heterogeneous, attention to these methodologic iss
ues becomes increasingly critical for the measurement and redress of differ
ential racial health status.