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The Childcare Database: a valuable register linkage
Mads Kamper-Jørgensen1, Jan Wohlfahrt, Jacob Simonsen
1Statens Serum Institut, Department of Epidemiology Research, Copenhagen, Denmark. mka@ssi.dk
Insights
The Danish Childcare Database links national data to study child morbidity. This resource enables high-quality, nationwide epidemiological research on childcare's health impacts.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- The Childcare Database was established in Denmark to investigate the effects of childcare attendance on child morbidity.
- It links various Danish national data sources, including the Danish Civil Registration System (DCRS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the creation, characteristics, and research potential of the Danish Childcare Database.
- To facilitate epidemiological studies on childcare and child health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Linking person-identifiable data from national registers based on the unique Danish Civil Registration System (DCRS) identification number.
- Inclusion of data on childcare attendance, child/family characteristics, facility details, and hospitalizations for children aged 0-5 years (1989-2004).
Main Results:
- The database grew from 1989 to 1998, stabilizing thereafter, with over 90% coverage of 0-5 year olds in Denmark from 1999-2004.
- By age 1, 53% of children were in childcare; by ages 3-5, approximately 75% were enrolled.
- The database contains linked nationwide register data of high quality.
Conclusions:
- The Childcare Database provides a unique resource for epidemiological research on childcare and morbidity.
- Its high-quality, linked nationwide data supports studies with strong internal and external validity.
- Future data linkages will further enhance the database's research capabilities.
Rationale:
To assess the impact of childcare attendance on morbidity for an entire country the Childcare Database was created by linking person-identifiable data from several Danish national data sources. The present paper describes the creation, characteristics, and potential of the Childcare Database.
Design And Measurement:
Based on the unique Danish Civil Registration System (DCRS) identification number register data were linked regarding childcare attendance, child and family characteristics, childcare facility characteristics, and hospitalizations for children aged 0 to 5 years in the period from 1989 to 2004.
Population And Sample Size:
The number of children in the database increased in the period from 1989 to 1998 as more municipalities started registering childcare, whereafter it stabilized. The maximum number of children in the database was 373,142 in 2000. From 1999 to 2004 the Childcare Database covered more than 90% of all 0- to 5-year-old children in Denmark. At age 1 year 53% of children were enrolled in a childcare facility and approximately 75% were enrolled from 3 to 5 years of age.
Potential:
The Childcare Database offers a unique potential for epidemiological research within the area of childcare and morbidity. Future updates and linkages with other data sources will further expand the potential of the database. Due to the high quality of the linked nationwide register data, the Childcare Database enables conduction of epidemiological studies of high internal and external validity.
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