History
The idea of the VA Vital Status files developed from
the VA-NDI Data Merge Project. This work was supported
by Health Services Research and Development Service funding
(SDR 03157) and funding for the VA Information Resource
Center (SDR 98004). This project compared
the dates of death (DOD) available in the VA with those
obtained from the National Death Index (NDI), which uses
data obtained from death certificates and is considered
the gold standard for mortality data. Based on
the results of this project, it concluded that it was
not cost effective for the VA to obtain death dates from
the NDI, since very similar results can be obtained by
using sources of death dates currently available in the
VA. Also, the study developed an algorithm to
determine the “best” date of death when the
sources contain conflicting data. The project recommended
that the VA develop a registry containing death dates
from all available sources (BIRLS, PTF, Medicare, and
SSA). Complete results of this project can be found
in VIReC’s Technical
Report #2.
Overview of Datasets Available
The VA Vital Status files are comprised of two files:
the Master and Mini files. The files contain data
for everyone who has received care through the VHA since
1992, has enrolled in the VHA, or has received compensation
or pension benefits from the VA. However, the files
for Compensation and Pension Mini only cover FY01-FY06,
DSS only covers FY02-FY06, and Enrollment source files
only cover FY00-FY06, because that’s as far back
as these files exist.
Complete
list of source files for the VA Vital Status files
The Master file contains one record for each SSN-date
of birth (DOB)-gender combination. It provides
all dates of birth, genders, and dates of death found
for each SSN. It also contains dates of last activity,
veteran status flags, flags that indicate whether the
SSN was included in the yearly finder file used to request
Medicare data, and variables to indicate whether or not
the person was enrolled in Medicare.
Master file SAS Proc
Contents
Master
file Data Dictionary
The Mini file contains one record for each SSN. An
algorithm is used to select the “best” DOB,
gender, and DOD for each SSN. In addition, the
Mini file drops all SSNs that have no veteran indicator
in the Master file.
Mini file SAS Proc Contents
Mini
file Data Dictionary
Both the Master and Mini files contain Scrambled SSNs. A
crosswalk file to real SSNs is available for researchers
requiring real SSNs.
VHA PRO Proc Contents
Please note that these files are in their first release. The
files will be updated and improved in future versions
based on suggestions we receive from users. The Vital
Status Mini and Master files are planned to be three-generation
datasets with current version accessible on disk and
two older versions accessible on tape. The current
Vital Status Mini and Master files consist of one generation
and are accessible on disk.
Access
The VA Vital Status Master and Mini files are available at Austin Information Technology Center (AITC formerly: CFD; formerly: AAC)
at the following locations:
Master file |
MDPPRD.VHA.PRD.SAS.VSTATUS.MASTER |
Mini file |
MDPPRD.VHA.PRD.SAS.VSTATUS.MINI |
Scrambled SSN to Real SSN crosswalk |
MDPPRD.VHA.PRO.VITAL.STATUS |
A new functional task code is required to access these
files. For information on how to apply for access
to files at AAC, see “Requesting
Access to VA data”.
In addition, to access the Scrambled SSN to Real SSN
crosswalk, potential users must gain approval from the
VHA Privacy Office for access to real SSNs.
|