Race In
1977 the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) issued Race and
Ethnicity Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative
Reporting in order to promote comparability of data among Federal data
systems. The 1977 standards called for the Federal Government抯
data systems to classify individuals into the following four racial
groups: In
1997 new standards were announced for classification of individuals by race within the
Federal Government抯 data systems. The
1997 standards have five racial groups: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)桾he race categories 憫White only,拻 憫Black or African American only,拻 憫American Indian and Alaska Native only,拻 憫Asian only,拻 and 憫Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander only拻 include persons who reported only one racial group; the category 憫2 or more races拻 includes persons who reported more than one of the five racial groups in the 1997 Standards or one of the five racial groups and 憫Some other race.拻 Prior to data year 1999, data were tabulated according to the 1977 Standards with four racial groups and the category 憫Asian only拻 included Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. Estimates for single-race categories prior to 1999 included persons who reported one race or, if they reported more than one race, identified one race as best representing their race. Differences between estimates tabulated using the two Standards for data year 1999 are discussed in the footnotes for each NHIS table. Tables XII and XIII illustrate NHIS data tabulated by race and Hispanic origin according to the 1997 and 1977 Standards for two health statistics (cigarette smoking and private health insurance coverage). In these illustrations, three separate tabulations using the 1997 Standards are shown: 1) Race: mutually exclusive race groups, including several multiple-race combinations; 2) Race, any mention: race groups that are not mutually exclusive because each race category includes all persons who mention that race; and 3) Hispanic origin and race: detailed race and Hispanic origin with a multiple-race total category. Where applicable, comparison tabulations by race and Hispanic origin are shown based on the 1977 Standards. Because there are more race groups with the 1997 Standards, the sample size of each race group under the 1997 Standards is slightly smaller than the sample size under the 1977 Standards. Only those few multiple-race groups with sufficient numbers of observations to meet standards of statistical reliability are shown. Tables XII and XIII also illustrate changes in labels and group categories in the 1997 Standards. The race designation of Black was changed to Black or African American and the ethnicity designation of Hispanic was changed to Hispanic or Latino.
National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES)桺rior to data year 1999, the 1977
Standards were used. Because of the differences
between the two Standards, the race-specific estimates
shown in trend tables based on the NHANES for
1999�00 are not strictly comparable with estimates for
earlier years. Each trend table based on the NHANES
includes a footnote that discusses differences between
estimates tabulated using the two Standards for survey
years 1999�00. Race in NHANES I and II was
determined primarily by interviewer observation; starting
with NHANES III, race was self-reported by survey
participants. National Vital Statistics System桵ost of the States in the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program are still revising their birth and death records to conform to the 1997 standards on race and ethnicity. During the transition to full implementation of the 1997 standards, vital statistics data will continue to be presented for the four major race groups, white, black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian or Pacific Islander, in accordance with 1977 standards. Birth File桰nformation about the race and Hispanic ethnicity of the mother and father are provided by the mother at the time of birth and recorded on the birth certificate and fetal death record. Since 1980, birth rates, birth characteristics, and fetal death rates for live-born infants and fetal deaths are presented according to race of mother. Before 1980 data were tabulated by race of newborn and fetus, taking into account the race of both parents. If the parents were of different races and one parent was white, the child was classified according to the race of the other parent. When neither parent was white, the child was classified according to father抯 race, with one exception: if either parent was Hawaiian, the child was classified Hawaiian. Before 1964, if race was unknown, the birth was classified as white. Beginning in 1964 unknown race was classified according to information on the previous birth record.
Mortality
File桰nformation about the race and Hispanic
ethnicity of the decedent is reported by the funeral
director as provided by an informant, often the surviving
next of kin, or, in the absence of an informant, on the
basis of observation. Death rates by race and Hispanic
origin are based on information from death certificates
(numerators of the rates) and on population estimates
from the Census Bureau (denominators). Race and
ethnicity information from the census is by self-report. To
the extent that race and Hispanic origin are inconsistent
between these two data sources, death rates will be
biased. Studies have shown that persons self-reported
as American Indian, Asian, or Hispanic on census and
survey records may sometimes be reported as white or
non-Hispanic on the death certificate, resulting in an
underestimation of deaths and death rates for the
American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic groups. Bias also
results from undercounts of some population groups in
the census, particularly young black and young white
males and elderly persons, resulting in an overestimation
of death rates. The net effects of misclassification and
undercoverage result in overstated death rates for the
white population and black population estimated to be
1 percent and 5 percent, respectively; and understated
death rates for other population groups estimated as
follows: American Indians, 21 percent; Asian or Pacific
Islanders, 11 percent; and Hispanics, 2 percent. SOURCE: Health, United States Related
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This page last reviewed
January 11, 2007
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