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Data Collection Overview

Victorian Perinatal Data Collection (VIC PDC)

Data Collection Sources

Midwives complete a notification form (manual or electronic) for all births within the scope of the collection.

Institutional environments

The Victorian Perinatal Data Collection (VPDC) is established by the Heath Act 1958 and operates pursuant to the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 under the functions of the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (CCOPMM). The VIC PDC is supported by the Consultative Councils Unit, within the Stewardship and Support Branch of Safer Care Victoria.

The VPDC was established as a population based surveillance system to collect and analyse information on and in relation to the health of mothers and babies in order to contribute to improvements in their health. The data collected via a birth report includes information on obstetric conditions, procedures and outcomes, neonatal morbidity and birth defects relating to every birth in Victoria.

Data are collected from health services (including public home birthing programs) and/ or independent home birth practitioners electronically via a secure data exchange.

The data collection is used to provide details of state-wide pregnancy characteristics and outcomes, as well as trends over time. It provides hospitals with individual profiles and is able to provide profiles of selected groups or subgroups of women. This collection is used for research and to compile state and national morbidity and mortality statistics to assist clinicians, service planners, educators, researchers and policy makers.

Relevance and Scope

Any live birth regardless of maturity or birthweight, who breathes or shows any other signs of life after birth and any stillbirth that is at least 20 weeks gestation, or where the gestation is unknown, where the birthweight is at least 400 grams. This includes all terminations of pregnancies and fetus papyraceous that remain in utero at 20 weeks’ gestation.

Timeliness

Birth data is required to be submitted within 30 days from the date of birth to the Consultative Councils Unit, under the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.
Under section 38e of the Public and Wellbeing Act 2008, CCOPMM is required to publish an annual report. The 2016 report is available on-line and contains comprehensive information on Victorian perinatal, maternal, child and adolescent mortality and morbidity.

Accuracy

As part of the ongoing data quality cycle, the Consultative Councils Unit undertakes output analysis of the data and queries anomalous data with the submitting site. Submitted data to the VPDC may have been updated as a result of the edit components in the submission process. Where possible, VPDC data elements align with the National Health Data Dictionary, Version 14.

Accessibility

VPDC data is publicly available in reports.
CCOPMM provides data for aggregated data requests and for research, however careful consideration is given to ensure that the privacy of individuals is protected and that release of data complies with the requirements of the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.
Formal research proposals must conform to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans 2007. Before deidentified CCOPMM data are provided for any research project, a properly constituted Human Research Ethics Committee must approve the research and a formal application must be received and approved by CCOPMM.
All
requests for data can be made by accessing the CCOPMM website.
The reports are publicly available on the CCOPMM website:
CCOPMM Annual Report for the Year –  includes Births in Victoria (includes some maternal morbidity) perinatal deaths, deaths of children and adolescents, and maternal deaths.

Interpretability

The definitions used are from the National Health Data Dictionary Version 14.
There is a Victorian Perinatal Data Collection (VPDC) Manual V6.0 available for midwives and others submitting data.

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