Massachusetts Vital Records
Individual level data from birth and death certificates in Massachusetts.
Birth/death certificate data for Massachusetts residents, excluding records of births or deaths that occurred out of state, records of children that have been adopted, and birth records that have been amended. The fetal death data set includes information on reported fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks gestation or those where the fetus weighed at least 350 grams. The linked birth/infant deaths data set includes linked birth and death certificates for infants born in Massachusetts who died before reaching one year of age.
Access
Vital records data including births, linked birth/infant deaths, and fetal deaths, are available for research purposes. Researchers must submit to their institution’s IRB for review prior to applying to access the data. Researchers can apply online by submitting a core application. Researchers should only request the minimum necessary data fields and years.
For death data requests, individuals should reach out to the following email address to describe their request: [email protected].
Death files can be sent electronically, either via email or through an in-house SFTP system depending on the variables included in the data set. Record-level birth data is always sent via 2-day USPS tracked mail.
Timeline for Access
It typically takes 10 business days to complete data requests; however, more complex requests, such as those involving linkage, may take 15-20 business days.
Lag Time
Data are finalized approximately two years after the end of the calendar year, though finalizing may take more or less time depending on the year. For example, both birth and death data from 2016 became available in 2018. Preliminary death data with limited variables may be available to confirm death before final data become available. Preliminary birth data are unavailable.
Cost
As of March 2021, there is no fee associated with accessing Vital Records.
Linking
Linking procedures are different for birth and death data:
Death data: To avoid confidentiality issues that may arise from researchers sharing their data with the Registry, the Registry will provide the requestor with a file containing all deaths that occurred in Massachusetts during a certain year and allow them to do the linkage themselves. This allows for “subjective” matching decisions to be made by the researchers rather than the Registry.
Birth data: The Registry rarely allows researchers to receive identifying information for births due to their confidentiality policy. Researchers must provide a list of individuals whose records they request; unlike the death data, researchers may not request all data for a cohort. If the requestor’s data need to be linked to birth data, the requestor must provide necessary variables to the Registry who will perform the linkage. The Registry will perform the match, remove any personally identifiable information, and return de-identified data to the researcher. An epidemiologist will perform all linking and will be able to answer questions about the linkage.
Identifiers Available for Linking
- First and last name of infant/decedent, mother, and father
- Date of birth of infant/decedent, mother, and father
- Address of infant/decedent, mother, and father
Data Contents
Massachusetts Vital Records data are organized into four data sets: births, deaths, linked birth/infant deaths, and fetal deaths.
Partial List of Variables
For birth records: Mother’s demographic and health information (including use of social services, prenatal care, pregnancy risk factors), information about the birth (e.g. date, plurality, complications, method of delivery, gestational age) and information about infant (e.g. sex, height, weight, Apgar scores, pediatric provider, and procedures performed after birth)
For death records: Demographic information, decedent’s family information, veteran status, occupation, medical information, cause of death, funeral and disposition information
Full lists of variables are included in the application appendix for each data set. Variables may change over time to reflect the change in certificate formats.
J-PAL Randomized Evaluations Using this Data Set
Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2004. “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination.” The American Economic Review, 94(4): 991-1013.