Under-registration of deaths in Thailand in 2005-2006: results of cross-matching data from two sources

objective: to estimate the magnitude of under-registration of deaths, by age and sex, in thailand. methods: the data in this study were derived from two sources: the thai survey of population changes (spc) 2005-2006, a consecutive multi-round household survey conducted over a 12-month period, and thailand's vital registration records. spc death entries for people of all ages were matched to 2005-2006 death records from vital registration. the principles of a dual records system were applied to estimate the magnitude of under-registration of deaths, classified by age and sex, using the chandrasekaran-deming formula. findings: overall under-registration of deaths during 2005-2006 was 9.00% (95% confidence interval, ci: 8.95-9.05) for males and 8.36% (95% ci: 8.31-8.41) for females. for both males and females, under-registration decreased as age increased. under-registration was greatest among people of either sex aged 1-4 years, whereas it was < 10% among people 60 years of age and older, both males and females. conclusion: these findings provided correction factors that can be used for adjusting mortality data from the registration system.