Data presented in these charts was obtained from the New Jersey State Health Assessment Data, Center for Health Statistics, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services http://njshad.doh.state.nj.us/welcome.html
RATES BASED ON SMALL NUMBERS
Caution should be exercised in the interpretation of rates based on small numbers. Chance variations in the number of vital events occurring in sparsely populated areas can cause rates to fluctuate widely over time. In accordance with National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards, rates based on fewer than 20 cases are considered unreliable for analysis purposes. Therefore, these rates are not displayed and are indicated by @ in the appropriate cell.
Please contact SNJPC at data@snjpc.org if you are interested in using risk factors that do not have published rates for program and planning purposes.
MISSING VALUES
Missing, unknown, not stated, and not classifiable data are not tabulated in separate rows or columns in some NJSHAD output, however they are included in the totals by row and column. Therefore, numbers may appear to not add to the total.
DATA SOURCES
Births
Encompasses births to New Jersey residents during the calendar year selected. The birth certificate is the source document for data. New Jersey law requires that the attending physician, midwife, or person acting as midwife file a certificate of birth with the Local Registrar within five days of a birth within the state. Statistics on births to New Jersey residents which occurred in other states are also included in this report.
Covers spontaneous fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestation for New Jersey residents during the selected calendar year. The data's source document is the fetal death file. New Jersey law requires the prompt filing of a fetal death certificate by the proper authority, such as hospital personnel, physicians, medical examiners, and funeral directors, in the event of a spontaneous fetal death of 20 or more weeks gestation occurring in the state.
Birth data used to calculate fetal death rates in NJSHAD are births to New Jersey residents during the calendar year selected. The birth certificate is the source document for data included in the analysis.
Infant Deaths
Covers infant deaths of New Jersey residents during the selected calendar year. The data's source document is the linked infant death-birth match file which has death certificates for infants matched with their birth certificates. This file allows analysis of maternal characteristics and newborn health information that is not on the death certificate. New Jersey law requires the prompt filing of a death certificate by the proper authority, such as hospital personnel, physicians, medical examiners, and funeral directors, in the event of a death occurring in the state.
Birth data used to calculate infant death rates in NJSHAD are births to New Jersey residents during the calendar year selected. The birth certificate is the source document for data included in the analysis.
RACE AND ETHNICITY CLASSIFICATION
Births
A race group and an ethnicity are reported for each individual for whom a vital record is filed. Due to small numbers in groups other than white or black, NJSHAD combines some groups as described below.
The race and ethnicity of an infant are not reported on the birth certificate and are classified for statistical purposes as the race and ethnicity of the mother.
SNJPC data charts report on two race groups: white and black. Race designations used in the birth section of NJSHAD are white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and other races. Each of these race groups may contain Hispanics. The Hispanic ethnicity category includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central/South American, or other Hispanic ethnicity, regardless of race. The SNJPC data charts only report on Hispanic ethnicity.The other race category includes all race groups other than white, black, and Asian/Pacific Islander.
Infant Deaths
The mother's race and ethnicity on the birth certificate are used for analysis of infant deaths in NJSHAD. Race and ethnicity reporting on birth certificates has been found to be virtually complete, however race reporting for races other than white and black and reporting of Hispanic ethnicity on death certificates is incomplete. Using the mother's race and ethnicity from the birth certificate allows the analysis of infant deaths for Hispanics and Asians and Pacific Islanders which would not be possible based on the infant's race and ethnicity on the death certificate due to poor reporting. Also, by analyzing infant deaths based on the mother's race and ethnicity, the data are comparable with the birth data used for denominators in the calculation of infant mortality rates.
Race designations used in the infant death section of NJSHAD are white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and other races. Each of these race groups may contain Hispanics. The Hispanic ethnicity category includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central/South American, or other Hispanic ethnicity, regardless of race. As noted above, SNJPC data charts report only white, black race designations.