Factors associated with the quality of death certification in Brazilian municipalities: A data-driven non-linear model.

Studies evaluating the local quality of death certification in Brazil focused on completeness of death reporting or inappropriate coding of causes of death, with few investigating missing data. We aimed to use missing and unexpected values in core topics to assess the quality of death certification in Brazilian municipalities, to evaluate its correlation with the percentage of garbage codes, and to employ a data-driven approach with non-linear models to investigate the association of the socioeconomic and health infrastructure context with quality of death statistics among municipalities. This retrospective study used data from the Mortality Information System (2010-2017), and municipal data regarding healthcare infrastructure, socioeconomic characteristics, and death rates. Quality of death certification was assessed by missing or unexpected values in the following core topics: dates of occurrence, registration, and birth, place of occurrence, certifier, sex, and marital status. Models were fit to classify municipalities according to the quality of death certification (poor quality defined as death records with missing or unexpected values in core topics ≥ 80%). Municipalities with poor quality of death certification (43.9%) presented larger populations, lower death rates, lower socioeconomic index, healthcare infrastructure with fewer beds and physicians, and higher proportion of public healthcare facilities. The correlation coefficients between quality of death certification assessed by missing or unexpected values and the proportion of garbage codes were weak (0.11-0.49), but stronger for municipalities with lower socioeconomic scores. The model that best fitted the data was the random forest classifier (ROC AUC = 0.76; precision-recall AUC = 0.78). This innovative way of assessing the quality of death certification could help quality improvement initiatives to include the correctness of essential fields, in addition to garbage coding or completeness of records, especially in municipalities with lower socioeconomic status where garbage coding and the correctness of core topics appear to be related issues.

Quality, opportunity, and treatment of data of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection / Calidad, oportunidad y manejo de los datos de coinfección tuberculosis y virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana / Qualidade, oportunidade e tratamento de dados de tuberculose e coinfecção com vírus da imunodeficiência humana

Background and Objectives: The identification, evaluation, and use of methodological resources for data quality analysis is important to support planning actions of public policies for the control of tuberculosis (TB) and the co-infection TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The objective was to analyze the quality and timeliness of notification of TB and TB-HIV co-infection cases from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN - Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação) in Espírito Santo State, from 2016 to 2018. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of the quality of SINAN data using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to analyze the quality and timeliness of SINAN-TB notification, with emphasis on the description of TB-HIV co-infection in Espírito Santo State, from 2016 to 2018. It considered five methodological steps that included quality analysis, standardization of records, duplicity analysis, the completeness of data through linkage with the SINAN-HIV database and anonymization of data. It obtained ethical approval under the number 4022892 on 12/05/2020. Results: The study showed that 89% of mandatory variables and 91% of essential variables showed satisfactory completeness. In TB-HIV co-infection 73% of the variables were completed, but essential variables related to TB treatment follow-up showed unsatisfactory completeness. The timeliness of reporting was considered regular. Conclusion: Improvements in work processes and the development of a specific methodological process for data treatment are necessary to qualify the information available in SINAN-TB.(AU)

Justificativa e Objetivos: A identificação, avaliação e emprego de recursos metodológicos para análise da qualidade dos dados é importante para fundamentar ações de planejamento das políticas públicas no controle da tuberculose (TB) e da coinfecção TB e o vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV). O objetivo é analisar a qualidade e a oportunidade de notificação dos casos de TB e coinfecção TB-HIV do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN) no Espírito Santo, de 2016 a 2018. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal da qualidade dos dados do SINAN com uso do Guia do Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) de análise da qualidade e oportunidade de notificação do SINAN-TB, com ênfase na descrição da coinfecção TB-HIV no Espírito Santo, de 2016 a 2018. Considerou-se cinco etapas metodológicas que incluíram análise da qualidade, padronização dos registros, análise de duplicidade, a completitude dos dados por meio de linkage com o banco de dados do SINAN-HIV e anonimização dos dados. Obteve aprovação ética sob parecer de nº 4022892 em 12/05/2020. Resultados: O estudo mostrou que 89% das variáveis obrigatórias e 91% das variáveis essenciais apresentaram completitude satisfatória. Na coinfecção TB-HIV 73% das variáveis foram preenchidas, porém variáveis essenciais relacionadas ao acompanhamento do tratamento para TB apresentaram completitude insatisfatória. A oportunidade de notificação foi considerada regular. Conclusão: Melhorias nos processos de trabalho e elaboração de processo metodológico específico para o tratamento dos dados são necessárias para qualificar as informações disponíveis no SINAN-TB.(AU)

Justificación y Objetivos: La identificación, evaluación y utilización de recursos metodológicos de análisis de la calidad de los datos es importante para apoyar la planificación de políticas públicas de control de la tuberculosis (TB) y la coinfección con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH). El objetivo es analizar la calidad y oportunidad de la notificación de casos de TB y coinfección TB-VIH del Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN), en el Estado del Espírito Santo, desde el año 2016 hasta 2018. Métodos: Este es un estudio transversal utilizando el análisis de la Guía de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) de la calidad y oportunidad de la notificación en SINAN-TB, con énfasis en la descripción de la coinfección TB-VIH, en el Estado del Espírito Santo, desde el año 2016 hasta 2018. Fueran considerados cinco pasos metodológicos que incluyeron análisis de calidad, estandarización de registros, análisis de duplicidad, vinculación con la base de datos SINAN-VIH y anonimización de datos. Obtuvo aprobación ética bajo dictamen nº 4022892 el 12/05/2020. Resultados: El 89% de las variables obligatorias y el 91% de las variables esenciales se completaron satisfactoriamente. En la coinfección TB-VIH el 73% de las variables fueron completadas, mientras que las variables esenciales relacionadas con el acompañamiento del tratamiento para la TB presentaron una completitud insatisfactoria. La oportunidad de notificación fue considerada regular. Conclusión: Las mejoras en los procesos de trabajo y la elaboración de un proceso metodológico específico para el tratamiento de los datos son necesarias para cualificar la información disponible en el SINAN-TB.(AU)