New York City Department of Health's Weekly Vital Statistics Report

Abstract

THE NEW YORK CITY Health Code ie-quires that whenever a death, birth, or fetal death occurs anywhere within the city limits a report must be made, to the health department office in the borough where the event occurred, on a certificate form prescribed by the health department. These certificates not only are useful legal documents; they also contain much information which can aid in the administration of the health programs of the community and in the research and evaluation related to these programs. The usual method of getting this information is to prepare tabulating cards from the certificates. Tabulations of various sorts can then be prepared directly from the cards or from magnetic tape containing the information from the cards. Most communities prepare annual vital statistics reports. Some prepare monthly or quarterly reports as well, but not many communities prepare weekly reports. To be useful, a weekly report must be available shortly after the close of a week. Also, the number of deaths and births should be sufficiently large that the rates calculated from them will be stable enough to be meaningful. New York City meets both of these specifications. With a population of about 8 million, the city's weekly deaths and births are numerous enough to give reliable rates.