Mortality information system: data quality analysis for the municipality of Maringá, state of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The analysis of mortality statistics is a well known traditional procedure to describe the community health status. In order to know this information quality for Maringá residentes data from the Health Ministry were assessed. The analysis showed that the deceased identification data are well filled up, with better results for occupation and instruction, which from 32.9% and 35% of missing data in 1979, decreased to 7.7% and 9.1% in 1995, respectively. The fulfilling improved for some items of less then a year of age deceased but occupation, father’s instruction and number of stillborn is an information not yet frequently fulfilled. The ill-defined, not known external causes and not specified tumor site data have improved as well. We concluded that mortality information quality in Maringá is good with the possibility of improvement. It is important that conditions may be created so that the health services and their professionals may be able to improve the information quality.