Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026
08:13
Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Race/ethnicity: who is counting what?
Huanguang Jia1, Yu E Zheng, Diane C Cowper
1Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center, Gainesville Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA. Huanguang.Jia@med.va.gov
Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
|November 24, 2006
Summary
Accurate race and ethnicity data is crucial for reliable health research. This study found that combining data sources significantly improves classification accuracy for veterans, addressing issues in VA and Medicare records.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Data Quality in Healthcare
- Veterans Affairs Healthcare
Background:
- Administrative data often contain misclassified race and ethnicity, potentially skewing research findings.
- Accurate demographic data is essential for understanding health disparities and ensuring equitable care within healthcare systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reliability of racial and ethnic classifications in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Medicare administrative data.
- To assess the impact of data linkage and imputation on improving classification accuracy for veterans.
Main Methods:
- Compared racial/ethnic classifications for 1,084 Florida veterans using VA inpatient, VA outpatient, and Medicare data (2000-2001).
- Analyzed agreement between different data sources and assessed the effect of imputing missing values.
Main Results:
- High rates of unknown racial/ethnic classifications were observed in VA outpatient and inpatient data.
- Substituting known values from linked datasets substantially enhanced classification reliability.
- Black and White classifications showed stronger agreement between VA and Medicare data.
- Medicare data potentially under-represents the Hispanic patient population.
Conclusions:
- Addressing missing data through linkage and imputation is vital for improving the accuracy of veteran demographic information.
- Discrepancies in race/ethnicity data across VA and Medicare systems highlight the need for data standardization.
- Findings underscore the importance of accurate administrative data for equitable healthcare research and policy.
Related Concept Videos
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who are...
01:27Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Adolescents from ethnic minority backgrounds face a multifaceted journey in forming their identities, shaped by the intersections of cultural expectations and personal exploration. For these adolescents, identity formation involves not only typical developmental challenges but also navigating the perceptions and attitudes of the majority culture. As they grow, adolescents in ethnic minority groups often become increasingly aware of stereotypes, social biases, and discrimination, all of which...
01:29Social Identity
Social identity constitutes a significant aspect of an individual’s self-concept, shaped by membership in various social groups, including gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and political affiliation. Individuals associate specific traits with particular social groups, leading to internalization of these traits. For example, musicians are often perceived as creative, while women are frequently associated with nurturing tendencies. Once individuals identify with a particular...
02:16Surveys
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
02:45The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
01:25What is Population Genetics?
A population is composed of members of the same species that simultaneously live and interact in the same area. When individuals in a population breed, they pass down their genes to their offspring. Many of these genes are polymorphic, meaning that they occur in multiple variants. Such variations of a gene are referred to as alleles. The collective set of all the alleles within a population is known as the gene pool.While some alleles of a given gene might be observed commonly, other variants...