Premium
A proposal for the systematic assessment of data quality indicators in birth defects surveillance
Author(s) -
Groisman Boris,
Mastroiacovo Pierpaolo,
Barbero Pablo,
Bidondo María Paz,
Liascovich Rosa,
Botto Lorenzo D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
birth defects research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.845
H-Index - 17
ISSN - 2472-1727
DOI - 10.1002/bdr2.1474
Subject(s) - data quality , quality (philosophy) , computer science , quality management , resource (disambiguation) , operations management , engineering , metric (unit) , computer network , philosophy , management system , epistemology
Background Quality control and improvement are a key part of the implementation of an effective surveillance program. Data quality indicators (DQI) are key tools but have not been widely used, especially in a low‐resource setting. Methods We developed a list of data quality indicators of birth defects surveillance. These DQI address ascertainment, description, coding, and classification. Results We developed 40 DQI that can be used widely to assess the quality of data relative to birth defects of major clinical and public health impact. Conclusions DQI have to be both comprehensive (e.g., assess all main surveillance processes) and practical (not require sophisticated or costly data elements), so that they can be used effectively in many different settings. We propose this list of DQI for use in surveillance program as a way to document the quality of the program; detect variations within and between programs, and support quality improvements.