SUMMARY
Deaths coded to external causes of death are an important part of the ABS Causes of Death collection. They are used for injury surveillance and to support the development of policy for disease and injury prevention. This paper documents the collection and processing required to produce causes of death statistics and discusses some key aspects of data quality. This paper is part of an ongoing work program to improve the quality of external causes of death data, in conjunction with other stakeholders.
In this paper external causes of death data are discussed in relation to the calendar year in which the death was registered, rather than the year in which the death actually occurred. Over the last decade about 8% of deaths due to external causes occurring in one year were not registered until the following year or later.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABS statistics draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated; without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available.
INQUIRIES
For further information, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or email client.services@abs.gov.au.