Methodological proposal for evaluation of death records from COVID-19

The limitation of studies on the coverage and completeness of death records is one of the main problems regarding vital statistics in Brazil. In 2020, the number of information systems on death records in Brazil increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, generating more uncertainties about the quality of death records. This study proposed an evaluation of the quality of death records due to COVID-19. Three methodological stages were considered: estimation of deaths under-registration; redistribution of deaths from nonspecific causes (Garbage Codes), and redistribution of deaths from ill-defined causes to COVID-19 data. The proposal was applied in the State of Paraíba, Brazil, and its municipalities in 2020, by using the official records of the Brazilian Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In total, 1,281 deaths were retrieved, besides the 3,426 deaths officially recorded for Paraíba State, an increase of 37.4% in deaths from COVID-19. The proposal was effective, easy to apply, and can be used by managers of governmental spheres and people interested in it as a tool to assess the quality of death records for any geographic space, thus, contributing to a better understanding of the real effect of the pandemic.