Generating age-specific mortality statistics from incomplete death registration data: two applications of the...

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Public Health
• Statistical Modeling

Background:

• Incomplete death registration systems hinder accurate mortality statistics generation.
• The empirical completeness method offers a potential solution for assessing data completeness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess two distinct approaches applying the empirical completeness method.
• To generate age-specific mortality statistics from incomplete death registration data.
• To compare the generated statistics with established methods like capture-recapture studies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the empirical completeness method to determine all-age death registration completeness.
• Employed a model life table to generate mortality statistics and age-specific completeness.
• Compared two approaches: the conventional method and the equivalent deaths method.
• Validated results against capture-recapture studies in Brazil, Thailand, Oman, and Vietnam.

Main Results:

• The empirical completeness method yielded all-age completeness estimates comparable to capture-recapture studies.
• The conventional method showed higher concordance for mortality and completeness estimates in the 15-59 age group.
• The equivalent deaths method demonstrated closer estimates for the 60-84 age group.
• Life expectancy estimates from both approaches exhibited similar concordance with capture-recapture data.
• Strong correlation was observed between the study's estimates and alternative measures for male adult mortality in Brazilian states.

Conclusions:

• Both assessed approaches generate mortality statistics from incomplete data with substantial agreement with capture-recapture studies.
• These methods are particularly valuable for application in subnational population analyses.
• The findings support the utility of the empirical completeness method in improving demographic estimations in data-scarce regions.