Ethnicity recording in health and social care data collections in Ireland: where and how is it measured and what is it used for?

Table 1 Recording of ethnicity and other related variables in the Census and national health and social care data collections

Data collection	Web link to data dictionary/data collection form	Process for data access	Identifiers	Ethnic or cultural background	Country of birth	Nationality	Length of stay	Language	Religion
Census
Census of the population 2016	✓	✓	Name, address, DOB	Census categories (see Table 2)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
National health and social care data collections
National Psychiatric In-Patient Reporting system	✓	✓	Address, DOB	Census categories and Roma	✓
National Drug Treatment Reporting System	✓	✓	Name, address, DOB, health identifier	Census categories and Roma	✓			✓
Perinatal mortality surveillance system	✓			Census categories
Severe Maternal Morbidity Audit	✓	✓		Census categories
Surveillance of homebirths database		✓		Census categories
Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting e.g. Gonorrhoea	✓	✓	Name, address, DOB	Census categories and Roma	✓
Cystic Fibrosis Registry		✓	Name, address, DOB	Census categories
Irish Childhood Diabetes Register			DOB	Census categories	✓		✓

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