Data Elements for Emergency Department Systems - Release 1.0 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997, 274 p.): SECTION 1 - PATIENT IDENTIFICATION DATA: 1.07 ETHNICITY

Data Elements for Emergency Department Systems - Release 1.0 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997, 274 p.)

SECTION 1 - PATIENT IDENTIFICATION DATA

		1.01 INTERNAL ID
		1.02 NAME
		1.03 ALIAS
		1.04 DATE OF BIRTH
		1.05 SEX
		1.06 RACE
		1.07 ETHNICITY
		1.08 ADDRESS
		1.09 TELEPHONE NUMBER
		1.10 ACCOUNT NUMBER
		1.11 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
		1.12 OCCUPATION
		1.13 INDUSTRY
		1.14 EMERGENCY CONTACT NAME
		1.15 EMERGENCY CONTACT ADDRESS
		1.16 EMERGENCY CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER
		1.17 EMERGENCY CONTACT RELATIONSHIP

1.07 ETHNICITY

Definition

Ethnicity of patient.

Uses

Data on patient ethnicity are used in patient care, public health surveillance, and epidemiologic, clinical, and health services research. For example, differential risks for some diseases, such as coronary artery disease, have been attributed at least partly to dietary differences across ethnic groups.

Discussion

Ethnicity is a concept used to differentiate population groups on the basis of shared cultural characteristics or geographic origins. A variety of cultural attributes contribute to ethnic differentiation, including language, patterns of social interaction, religion, and styles of dress. However, ethnic differentiation is imprecise and fluid. It is contingent on a sense of group identity that can change over time and that involves subjective and attitudinal influences. Since 1977, the federal government has sought to standardize data on race and ethnicity among its agencies through the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive Number 15: Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting (OMB, 1978). Directive Number 15 standards were developed to meet federal legislative and program requirements, and they are used widely in the public and private sectors. The directive provides two basic ethnic categories - Hispanic and Not of Hispanic Origin - but states that collection of ethnicity data need not be limited to these categories. However, any additional reporting that uses more detail must be organized in such a way that the additional categories can be aggregated into the two basic groups. OMB prefers that data on race and ethnicity be collected separately. The use of the Hispanic category in a combined race/ethnicity data element makes it impossible to distribute persons of Hispanic ethnicity by race and, therefore, reduces the utility of the four basic racial categories by excluding from them persons who would otherwise be included. Although the directive does not specify a method of determining an individual’s ethnicity, OMB prefers self-identification to identification by an observer whenever possible. The directive states that persons of mixed ethnicity should use the single category that most closely reflects the individual’s recognition in his or her community.

Data Type (and Field Length)

IS - coded value for user-defined tables (3).

Repetition

No.

Field Values

Code	Description

1	Hispanic. A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

2	Not of Hispanic Origin. Anyone with a known ethnicity not fitting the definition of Hispanic.

9	Unknown.

Patient self-identification of ethnicity is preferable to observer-identification. Enter 9 if neither method yields an identification of ethnicity.

Data Standards or Guidelines

Statistical Policy Directive Number 15: Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting (OMB, 1978), Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (OMB, 1995), E1633-96 (ASTM, 1996), and Core Health Data Elements (National Committee on Vital Health Statistics, 1996).

Other References

None.