Industry and occupation in California birth certificates (1998-2019): Reporting disparities and classification...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Sociology

Background:

• Missing and noncodable parental industry and occupation (I/O) information on birth certificates (BCs) can bias analyses of parental worksite exposures and family economic stability.
• Accurate I/O data is essential for understanding socioeconomic factors influencing health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess trends in missing and noncodable parental industry and occupation (I/O) information on California birth certificates (BCs) from 1989-2019.
• To identify demographic disparities in I/O missingness and codability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) software to code parental I/O data from 21,739,406 California BCs (1989-2019).
• Assessed I/O missingness and codability across different reporting periods, parental sex, race/ethnicity, age, and education levels.

Main Results:

• Parental I/O missingness increased from 4.4% to 9.4% between 1989-2019.
• Missing I/O data was more prevalent among male, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) parents, and those with high school education or less.
• Less than 2% of reported I/O data was noncodable by NIOSH software, with minor disparities observed across demographic groups.

Conclusions:

• Systematic disparities exist in I/O missingness on California BCs, particularly affecting male, Black, AIAN, younger, and less educated parents.
• While I/O codability is generally high, improving data collection completeness is vital for equitable research on family economic contexts and outcomes.