A quality assessment of the Georgian Birth Registry

Abstract

Aim: Assess the quality of the Georgian Birth Registry (GBR) in the 1st year of implementation.

Method: The GBR was implemented 1st of January 2016 in 285 maternity facilities in Georgia. The mode of reporting is case-report-forms (CRFs) which are filled out electronically by doctors or midwives and entered directly into the birth registry. Reporting to the GBR became mandatory by law on the 1st of May 2016. A formal application for usage of data was sent to the GBR and approved, the register file was retrieved in February 2017 and a study file was made. Number of births from the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) were obtained and compared to the GBR to find coverage. Data were analysed in three four-month periods. The Robson variables were assessed with regards to completeness of case reporting, inconsistent case-reporting, and missing Robson information.

Results: Coverage of births reported to the GBR was 91.9% in 2016. Valid information on all six Robson variables accounted to 4205 (7.4%) of births, while missing information on one or more Robson (R99) variables were found in 92.6% of the birth records.

Conclusion: The overall data quality in the GBR improved during the 1st year of implementation, but the data are unreliable for antenatal care and obstetric service. However, findings from this report show potential for improvements and further development of the GBR.