How Well Do Birth Records Serve Maternal and Child Health Programs? Birth Registration System Evaluation, New York City, 2008–2011

National birth registration guidelines were revised in 2003 to improve data quality; however, few studies have evaluated the impact on local jurisdictions and their data users. In New York City (NYC), approximately 125,000 births are registered annually with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and data are used routinely by the department’s maternal and child health (MCH) programs. In order to better meet MCH program needs, we used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to assess birth data usefulness, simplicity, data quality, timeliness and representativeness. We interviewed birth registration and MCH program staff, reviewed a 2009 survey of birth registrars (n = 39), and analyzed 2008–2011 birth records for timeliness and completeness (n = 502,274). Thirteen MCH programs use birth registration data for eligibility determination, needs assessment, program evaluation, and surveillance. Demographic variables are used frequently, nearly 100 % complete, and considered the gold standard by programs; in contrast, medical variables’ use and validity varies widely. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed birth registrars reported ≥1 problematic items in the system; 64.1 % requested further training. During 2008–2011, the median interval between birth and registration was 5 days (range 0–260 days); 11/13 programs were satisfied with timeliness. The NYC birth registration system provides local MCH programs useful, timely, and representative data. However, some medical items are difficult to collect, of low quality, and rarely used. We recommend enhancing training for birth registrars, continuing quality improvement efforts, increasing collaboration with program users, and removing consistently low-quality and low-use variables.