1941: Vital Statistics

The various organizations responsible for vital statistics in the United States are loosely linked in a cooperative federal-state system. The offices of the state registrars of vital statistics are located in the state health departments with but one exception, Massachusetts, in which this office is placed under the control of the State Department. Four cities, Boston, New York, Baltimore and New Orleans, have vital statistics systems independent of state control. The District of Columbia is also independent and functions like a state in this respect. Transcripts of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates are bought by the Bureau of the Census from the states. It is the states' responsibility to collect the original certificates, and also to ensure their accuracy, to provide safeguards against their loss or destruction, and to process them for statistical and other purposes.

National Defense and Vital Statistics.

The present system has never been strong enough in structure, personnel, funds or legal authority to meet adequately its regular functions and responsibilities. On this relatively weak system the national emergency has placed a tremendous burden. The state and city offices of vital statistics have been overwhelmed in all parts of the country by an unusual public demand for certified copies of birth certificates. This is due to the fact that national laws, and agencies responsible for their enforcement, are demanding proof of the facts of birth and citizenship.

It has been estimated that there are approximately 60,000,000 people in the United States who are unable to obtain a certified copy of a birth certificate so as to establish the facts of their birth. Since so many rights and privileges are dependent upon the proof of citizenship and the facts of birth, it was necessary to develop a method by which such proof could be assembled, inspected and made available for the use of persons not having a birth certificate on file. The Division of Vital Statistics, in cooperation with state registrars of vital statistics, developed a manual outlining a uniform procedure and setting general standards to be followed in the filing of delayed certificates of birth. This manual, published on July 21, 1941, was distributed to all state registration officials and other interested persons. The standards and procedures outlined in the manual were developed after a series of conferences with representatives of Federal agencies, state registrars, and state health officers. The procedures which are specified in it are now being adopted by a large number of states with the assurance that the Federal and state agencies which require proof of age or nationality will accept certificates in conformity with such minimum standards.

The importance of this problem and the general acceptance of the Bureau's procedures is evidenced by the fact that a letter issued by the Acting Secretaries of War and Navy to all contractors and subcontractors of national defense orders recommends that they adhere to the Manual of Uniform Procedure for the Delayed Registration of Births, as issued by the Bureau of the Census.

Publications.

Two annual volumes of Vital Statistics of the United States, one by place of occurrence and the other by place of residence, were published in 1940. In addition, several volumes of the Vital Statistics-Special Report series were released. One volume dealt with general subjects and another with state summaries. A special volume in the series summarized the facilities and services in hospitals and other institutions. Annual publications on the statistics of prisoners, and of patients in mental and defective institutions, were also released, as well as certain current series, i.e., Weekly Mortality Index, Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths, Monthly Vital Statistics Bulletin, and The Registrar.

Accident Statistics.

A new transcript has been developed by the Division for the collection of motor vehicle accident fatality statistics. In the use of this transcript the state registrar is requested to fill in material from the death certificate dealing with automobile fatalities. The state traffic authority then receives the transcript and makes up a supplementary report. By this process it has been possible to link information concerning fatalities due to automobile accidents with the exact knowledge as to where the accident occurred and what type of accident was involved. Practically all states are participating in this project. The data collected will be released in the form of quarterly reports entitled Summary of Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities, and an annual summary for the country as a whole. The first of the quarterly reports was released late in 1941. (See also ACCIDENT PREVENTION.)

Monographs.

During the Census period the Division of Vital Statistics is undertaking the preparation of a number of monographic books and special studies. The following books are well along toward the point of completion:

(1) Studies on cardiac disease

(2) Results and problems of residence allocation of births and deaths

(3) Analysis of birth and death rates

(4) Comparability of mortality statistics

(5) Twenty-five years of birth registration in the United States

Birth Registration Test Project.

During the fiscal year 1941 the nation-wide test of the birth registration was begun. As a part of the 1940 decennial census a special infant card was made for each child under four months of age at the time of enumeration of the census schedule. These infant cards were matched with the birth certificates filed in state vital statistics offices for the same period. The project, when completed, will represent a very real accomplishment of the Division of Vital Statistics. For the first time in 25 years a simultaneous and consistent test of birth registration will have been made for every county of the country. Although the testing project is not yet complete, many deficiencies in the registration in certain states have been revealed.

Marriage and Divorce Statistics.

During the decennial census period the Division of Vital Statistics was authorized to collect and publish statistics relating to marriage and divorce. In developing this program for the collection and tabulation of marriage and divorce statistics, plans were made to collect much more than a mere count of these events. The collection of these data is almost complete, and detailed plans for tabulation and publication have been worked out. The Division hopes, in the future, to place marriage and divorce statistics on an annual basis. Registration areas of marriage and divorce have been established, to which states and municipalities will be admitted when registration of these vital facts is sufficiently complete and accurate.

Inter-American Statistical Activities.

In 1940 the Division responded to urgent requests from Uruguay to send one of its technical experts to that country in order to recommend improvements in its vital statistics system. The result of this loan of personnel for a period of approximately six months has been greatly appreciated. Similar requests are being received from other nations. Foreign students coming to this country on foundation fellowships are using the Division of Vital Statistics, to an increasing degree, as a place to visit and obtain practical experience. Divisional plans for the future, consequently, anticipate a considerable extension in the demand for this type of effort.

United States Summary of Vital Statistics in 1940.

There were 2,360,339 births and 1,417,269 deaths reported for the United States in 1940, an increase of 94,811 births and 29,372 deaths, as compared with the corresponding figures for the preceding year. The birth rate increased to 17.9 per 1,000 population in 1940 and was the highest recorded for the birth registration area since its completion in 1933. The death rate increased slightly to 10.8 per 1,000 population.

Although there was a slight increase in the total death rate, the trends of the maternal-death rate and infant-mortality rate continued on their downward path. The death rates for both of these causes were the lowest ever recorded for the birth registration area.

The rank order of the principal selected causes of death in 1940 did not change materially from that of 1939. The 1940 mortality experience continues to show the general effects of an ageing population and a decline in death rates for infectious diseases. In 1940 there were substantial increases in the death rates for diseases of the heart, cancer, intracranial lesions of vascular origin, and accidental causes of death, and decreases in the death rates for influenza and pneumonia, diarrhea and enteritis, and tuberculosis. See also PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE: Morbidity and Mortality.