Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2014 Dec;36(4):684-92.
doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdt116. Epub 2013 Dec 8.

Completeness and usability of ethnicity data in UK-based primary care and hospital databases

Rohini Mathur  1 , Krishnan Bhaskaran  1 , Nish Chaturvedi  2 , David A Leon  1 , Tjeerd vanStaa  3 , Emily Grundy  4 , Liam Smeeth  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Completeness and usability of ethnicity data in UK-based primary care and hospital databases

Rohini Mathur et al. J Public Health (Oxf). 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Ethnicity recording across the National Health Service (NHS) has improved dramatically over the past decade. This study profiles the completeness, consistency and representativeness of routinely collected ethnicity data in both primary care and hospital settings.

Methods: Completeness and consistency of ethnicity recording was examined in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), and the ethnic breakdown of the CPRD was compared with that of the 2011 UK censuses.

Results: 27.1% of all patients in the CPRD (1990-2012) have ethnicity recorded. This proportion rises to 78.3% for patients registered since April 2006. The ethnic breakdown of the CPRD is comparable to the UK censuses. 79.4% of HES inpatients, 46.8% of outpatients and 26.8% of A&E patients had their ethnicity recorded. Amongst those with ethnicity recorded on >1 occasion, consistency was over 90% in all data sets except for HES inpatients. Combining CPRD and HES increased completeness to 97%, with 85% of patients having the same ethnicity recorded in both databases.

Conclusions: Using CPRD ethnicity from 2006 onwards maximizes completeness and comparability with the UK population. High concordance within and across NHS sources suggests these data are of high value when examining the continuum of care. Poor completeness and consistency of A&E and outpatient data render these sources unreliable.

Keywords: epidemiology; ethnicity; methods.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Proportion of patients with valid ethnicity recorded in CPRD and HES by financial year of registration (CPRD) or first attendance (HES).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Ethnic breakdown of CPRD and UK population on 27 March 2011.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Evans N, Menaca A, Andrew EV, et al. Appraisal of literature reviews on end-of-life care for minority ethnic groups in the UK and a critical comparison with policy recommendations from the UK end-of-life care strategy. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11:141. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bhattacharyya S, Benbow SM. Mental health services for black and minority ethnic elders in the United Kingdom: a systematic review of innovative practice with service provision and policy implications. Int Psychogeriatr. 2013;25(3):359–73. - PubMed
    1. Wilkinson E, Randhawa G. An examination of concordance and cultural competency in the diabetes care pathway: South Asians living in the United Kingdom. Indian J Nephrol. 2012;22(6):424–30. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Department of Health. A practical guide to ethnic monitoring in the NHS and social care. The Department of Health. 2007
    1. Kumarapeli P, Stepaniuk R, de Lusignan S, et al. Ethnicity recording in general practice computer systems. J Public Health. 2006;28(3):283–7. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms