[DK] The Register for Health and Social Conditions

Full name of the series in original language

Udgifter til Sociale Ydelser

Abstract

The purpose of the register is to provide Statistics Denmark, the Ministry of Health and the National Board of Health with readily available information from public registers on the state of health of the Danish population and relevant socio-economic background conditions. Another purpose is to provide data for research in social medicine.

The register was established in cooperation between the three authorities, which had already established data for epidemiological research, for the Register of Occupational Cancer Statistics and for the Fertility Database. Besides these, a Register of Statistics on Hospitalisations has been created at Statistics Denmark to illustrate the social distribution of hospitalisations.

The collection of data for the register began in 1994, starting with data from registers with information available from 1977 onwards: The National Register of Patients, the Register of Population Statistics and the Employment Classification Module. This was followed in 1995 by the inclusion of data from the following registers: the Register of Causes of Death, the Register of Health Insurance Statistics and the Register of Coherent Social Statistics. In 1997 a final agreement was made defining the contents of the register, including data from three more registers: The Integrated Database for Labour Market Research, the Educational Classification Module and the Register of Building and Dwelling Statistics. At the time, specification was made for the future inclusion of data on medical births, voluntary abortions and deformations in birth. The first complete version of the register including available data for 1977-1995 was completed in the spring of 1998. The register has since then been updated every year. In 2003, in agreement with the Ministry of Health and the National Board of Health, information on costs/ use of resources (DRG: Diagnosis Related Groups) and cancer incidence have been added to the Register for Health and Social Conditions.

Geographic coverage

Denmark

Notes

Some comments can be made as to the accuracy of data from the educational and employment modules as this has been improved over time.

Information about the completed education of the elderly part of the population can be marred by the age limit used in the 1970 census, where results pertaining to people over the age of 49 were excluded from the register. As a result, the level of information improves yearly from 1980 onwards.

Information about employment status is indirectly obtained from tax returns and income sources, and the model used for this can at best be considered the optimal on the basis of available sources. Occupations were before 1993 acquired from public pay transfer systems (for public employees) or local population registers supplemented by information on education or employment insurance organisations membership. As from 1993 privately companies of 10 or more employees provide occupational data about their employees along with statistics on earnings. The DISCO88 (the Danish ISCO88) was introduced as standard classification. Public employees' occupations have been coded according to the new standard since 1995, but coding practices have been altered throughout the period and became more stable in 1997. As from 1999 the DISCO88 has been adopted for public employees.

Time period

1977 => 2012

Types of available microdata

Consistency type

Access mode

Update date

15/09/2021