Journal article
Improving the quality of external cause of death data in Brazil: evaluation and validation of a new form to investigate garbage codes
Adauto Martins Soares Filho, Raquel Barbosa de Lima, Edgar Merchan-Hamann, Maria de Fátima Marinho de Souza, Lene Mikkelsen, Pasyodun Koralage Buddhika Mahesh, Tim Adair
Research Square | Published : 2020
Abstract
Abstract Background: Accurate cause of death (COD) data are essential for policy and planning. Garbage codes (GCs), such as external causes with no further specific information, are commonly used as an indicator of poor quality of COD information. The investigation of GC using an effective instrument is necessary to convert them into useful data for public health. Aim: This study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of the new investigation of deaths from external causes (IDEC) form, proposed by Ministry of Health, Brazil, to improve the quality of COD. Methods: The study compared the performance of the IDEC form on 164 external GC deaths with a stratified matched sample of 2,2..
View full abstract