U.S. vital statistics system: major activities and developments, 1950-95 ; History and organization of the vital statistics system ; US vital statistics system

Abstract

The early history of the vital statistics system was presented in detail in Vital Statistics of the United States, Volume I, 1950. This earlier document is reprinted in this publication in appendix II. That report begins with the early collection and preservation of registration records as legal evidence of the occurrence of the event, primarily for use in protecting individual rights. It then describes the era in which death records by cause became recognized as essential for control of epidemics and for other public health interests. The report goes on to cover how welfare legislation of the 1930's and emergency World War II legislation of the 1940's brought about an unprecedented demand by individuals for their birth certificates. Included in the earlier report is a description of the long, hard-fought, and often discouraging campaign of individuals, associations, and State and Federal agencies to bring about uniform registration laws and reporting forms that could not only serve the increasing needs of individuals for their records but also provide data for statistical analysis at all levels of government. The establishment, development, and completion of the registration areas designed to provide national birth and death statistics and the early efforts that ultimately led to establishment of similar registration areas for providing marriage and divorce data are described. The report traces the Federal function in vital statistics from its origin in the Bureau of the Census to its placement in the National Office of Vital Statistics in the Public Health Service in 1946. The purpose of this report is to pick up where the 1950 report ended and describe further developments and major activities and accomplishments that occurred from 1950 through 1995. Most of the information included was obtained from or based upon material contained in government reports. Material from the 1950 report is repeated in certain instances to provide an informative context for understanding the more recent developments. Reference is also made to some pre-1950 activities and achievements that were not discussed in the earlier report. All publications that were reviewed by the author in preparing this report are referred to in the text or cited as sources. Because the publications reviewed are in the public domain, much of the material in them is widely used, appears in numerous publications, and consequently, is likely to appear in publications not cited in this report. ; Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Introduction -- -- Organizational changes -- Transfer to the Public Health Service -- National Center for Health Statistics -- -- Supporting activities -- Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics -- National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems -- -- Developmental activities -- Model Vital Statistics Act – U.S. standard certificates and reports -- Registration areas -- -- Improvement of data -- Tests of birth registration completeness -- Query programs for improving birth and death data -- Current Mortality Sample -- Cause-of-death classification -- Comparability studies -- Ranking causes of death -- Automated mortality data system Electronic registration -- Multiple causes-of-death statistics -- Race and ethnicity data -- Fetal death and induced termination of pregnancy data -- Linked birth/infant death data -- Training -- -- Special projects -- Vital statistics rates in the United States: 1940–60 -- Vital and health statistics monographs, 1959–61 -- -- Cooperative developments -- Vital statistics component of the Cooperative Health Statistics System -- State centers for health statistics -- Supplemental data sources -- Follow-back surveys -- National Survey of Family Growth -- National Death Index -- -- Availability of vital statistics data -- Publications -- Public-use data tapes -- CD-ROM with SETS -- Vital statistics in the 21st century: A vision for the future -- -- References -- Appendix I. Appendix I tables -- Appendix II. History and organization of the Vital Statistics System ; February 1997." ; "This report was prepared by Alice M. Hetzel under contract with the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS), formerly the Association for Vital Records and Health Statistics (AVRHS)." - p. iii ; "Includes reprint of 'History and organization of the vital statistics system' to 1950. - cover ; Also available via Internet from the CDC website. Address as of 6/19/07: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/usvss.pdf; current access available via PURL. ; Includes bibliographical references (p. 26).