Evaluation of the death records quality in Brazil: Sociodemographic determinants of incomplete education information

This paper aimed to evaluate the relationship between the lack of filling in education level information of adult deaths in the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM, by its Portuguese acronym) with sociodemographic characteristics of the deceased. Using sociodemographic information from SIM, a descriptive temporal analysis of the percentages of missing data in the education variable was performed. Next, the relationship between the lack of completion for education information was evaluated with sociodemographic variables. It was observed that men, at older ages, white, widowed, who died on public roads and due to external causes have a greater chance for failure in filling out the education information. Furthermore, it was found that the chance of presenting missing data is lower in the northern region compared to the other regions. It is generally concluded that the distribution of failure to complete the education information for deaths registered in the SIM is not uniform across spatial, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

Automated summary

Men, older individuals, white people, widowed individuals, and those who died on public roads due to external causes are more likely to have missing education information. The chance of missing data is lower in the northern region compared to other regions. The distribution of incomplete education information in deaths registered in SIM is not uniform across spatial, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics.