Record linkage under suboptimal conditions for data-intensive evaluation of primary care in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Linking Brazilian databases demands the development of algorithms and processes to deal with various challenges including the large size of the databases, the low number and poor quality of personal identifiers available to be compared (national security number not mandatory), and some characteristics of Brazilian names that make the linkage process prone to errors. This study aims to describe and evaluate the quality of the processes used to create an individual-linked database for data-intensive research on the impacts on health indicators of the expansion of primary care in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil.

Methods: We created an individual-level dataset linking social benefits recipients, primary health care, hospital admission and mortality data.

Analysis of the application of a deterministic routine for identifying multiple pregnancies on SINASC, Brazil.

Objective: to evaluate the application of a deterministic routine for identifying multiple pregnancies on the Brazilian Live Birth Information System (SINASC).

Methods: SINASC data deduplication and linkage with the mortality database (fetal deaths) for Rio de Janeiro state for the period 2007-2008; we used a deterministic routine, using a key based on SINASC maternal and birth information, complemented by manual review.

Results: of the 433,874 SINASC records, 9,036 (2.