Details:

Personal Author:
Talih, Makram ; Irimata, Katherine E. ; Zhang, Guangyu ; Parker, Jennifer D.
Talih, Makram ; Irimata, Katherine E. ; Zhang, Guangyu ; Parker, Jennifer D. Less -
Corporate Authors:
National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
Description:
Background: The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recently developed multistep standards for the presentation of rates (referred to as the "Standards"). Statistically reliable rates have a sample size or effective sample size of 10 or more for both numerator and denominator, a relative width of 160% or less for appropriate 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and, when applicable, degrees of freedom of 8 or higher.

Objectives: For the CIs used in the Standards for rates from vital statistics and complex health surveys, this report evaluates coverage probability, relative width, and the resulting percentage of rates flagged as statistically unreliable when compared with previously used standards. Additionally, the report assesses the impact of design effects and the denominator’s sampling variability, when applicable.

Methods: Case studies and simulations using data from the National Vital Statistics System and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey were implemented.

Results: The gamma-based 95% CIs used in the Standards for crude and age-adjusted vital rates maintained nominal coverage, while the 160% threshold for their relative

Introduction: The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) disseminates information on a broad range of health topics through diverse publications. The use of clear and thorough presentation standards is essential to inform users of NCHS products about the statistical reliability (or lack of reliability) of published estimates. NCHS released the widths remained consistent with a sample size of 10 or more. Log Student's t CI used for period- and cohort- linked infant mortality rates also maintained nominal coverage, even as the correlation between numerator and denominator varied. Simulations that varied in numerator sample size, survey weight variability, and denominator variance showed that log Student's t CIs used for health care surveys retained nominal coverage when the effective sample size was 10 or more and the relative CI width was at most 160%. More rates were presented under the multistep NCHS standards than would be presented under standards that relied on sample size alone or in addition to relative standard error.

Conclusion: The CIs used in the Standards maintain nominal coverage in representative simulation studies and, on average, lead to statistically reliable rates being presented for more granular data than under previously used standards.

Suggested citation: Talih M, Irimata KE, Zhang G, Parker JD. Evaluation of the National Center for Health Statistics data presentation standards for rates from vital statistics and sample surveys. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 2(198). 2023. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/ 10.15620/cdc:123462.


Subjects:
[+]
Biometry Data Collection Health Surveys Research Design Surveys And Questionnaires Vital Statistics
Series:
Vital and health statistics. Series 2, Data evaluation and methods research ; no. 198
Document Type:
Report
Genre:
Statistics
Place as Subject:
United States
Collection(s):
Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:a6484303a4fcb247f777ed4a006f205e5ddcd3f799995eb9cc575a1062def167
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/123462/cdc_123462_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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