Transcript Issues in the Classification of Race and Ethnicity Data

Issues in the Classification of Race
and Ethnicity Data
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
This session…
Discusses implementation in NCHS data systems of
the Revised OMB Standards for Classification of
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, including:
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


Changes in data collection requirements;
Tabulation of multiple-race categories;
Impact on differential and trend analyses;
Interrelation with other Federal data systems.
Session agenda…
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Revised OMB Standards on Race/Ethnicity
National Vital Statistics System (Jim Weed)
National Health Care Surveys (Irma Arispe)
National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (Benny Kottiri)
• National Health Interview Survey (Jacqueline
Lucas)
• Bridging race data in the 2000 census (Jennifer
Parker)
• NCHS program of race/ethnicity research
(Jennifer Madans)
The next slide…
• Presents the standard race categories mandated for
Federal data collection systems by the Office of
Management and Budget in 1977 and as revised in
1997; and
• Emphasizes the shift in data collection from
“Select one…” to “Select one or more…”, so that
respondents are able to report more than one race
with which they identify.
OMB Standard Categories for Race
• Directive 15 (1977):
• “Select one … ”
• American Indian or
Alaska Native
• Asian or Pacific
Islander
• Black
• White
• Revised Standard (1997):
• “Select one or more… ”
• American Indian or Alaska
Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
• White
Presentation of Race Data

OMB urges as much detail as possible without
compromising data quality or confidentiality
standards;
 For aggregate data presentation, provide the
number who selected only one category, separately
for each of the five racial categories;
 Show as many multiple responses as possible,
but if all multiples are collapsed then at a minimum
show number reporting “more than one race;”
Presentation of Data, cont.

Report the number in each racial category who
are Hispanic or Latino;
 When more detailed information on racial
subgroups is collected, the category “More than
one race” includes respondents who selected more
than one of the five basic racial categories in the
new standard.
Hispanic and Race
questions on the 2000
census form
Implementation of
Revised Race/Ethnicity
Standards has already
occurred in the 2000
decennial census, which
allowed respondents to
check any of 15
checkboxes and/or write
in race entities.
U.S. Map shows higher concentration of multiple-race
population in West and Mountain regions, eastern
Oklahoma, and selected counties or urban areas…
25.0-28.4 (darkest)
12.5-24.9
5.0-12.4
2.4-4.9
0.0-2.3 (lightest)
New question on Hispanic origin for revised
birth and death certificates…
New question on race for revised certificates—
permits respondent to “Check one or more
races…”
Revised race/ethnicity standards on
State vital records…
• Have been implemented in California State birth
and death record systems, which processed
multiple-race data beginning in 2000;
• Some additional States will implement in 2003,
but others will implement as they re-engineer their
vital records systems in later years;
• Consequently, for a period of time there will be a
lack of strict comparability between population
data by race based on the 2000 census and race
data collected on vital records.
The next slide…
• Shows the percent that each standard race
category would increase if all persons reporting a
particular race (in combination) were added to the
number reporting that race alone;
• Note that the number of persons who might have
reported American Indian or Alaska Native under
the old standard probably lies between 2.5 and 4.1
million, probably much closer to 2.5 than 4.1;
• Note that the number reporting Native Hawaiian
or Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination
is more than double the number reporting NHOPI
alone!
Increase in race groups due to multiple-race inclusion…
Population by Race for the U.S.: 2000 Census
Race
Reported
alone
Alone or in Inclusive Percent
combination increase increase
One race
White
211,460,626 216,930,975
Black/AA
34,658,190 36,419,434
AI/AN
2,475,956
4,119,301
Asian
10,242,998 11,898,828
NHOPI
398,835
874,414
Some other race
15,359,073 18,521,486
Subtotal
274,595,678 288,764,438
Two or more races
6,826,228
...
Total
281,421,906
...
5,470,349
1,761,244
1,643,345
1,655,830
475,579
3,162,413
...
...
...
2.6
5.1
66.4
16.2
119.2
...
...
...
...
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Need for Bridging…
• OMB recognizes the potential problem of at least
a temporary incompatibility between numerators
and denominators for rates and allows agencies to
employ a “bridge period.”
• Despite the small numbers of multiple-race
people, the previous slide suggests that single-race
populations will not be compatible with birth or
death numerators as currently collected to
calculate rates without some kind of modification.
Bridging methods…
• Involve a model that translates multiple race
responses for an individual into the one, single
response we predict that the individual most likely
would have reported under the old standard.
• Help users understand relationship between old
and new data series.
• Provide consistent numerators and denominators
for transition period, before all data are available
in the new standard.