Tennessee Administrative Database Project
        
     
    
        
    
    
        Project Description:
        In this project, we use statewide, administrative databases to examine questions of health and family dynamics for two groups of individuals. Our data for this project come from several Tennessee state records, over periods of up to 19 years. These records include the Birth records of all 82,000+ TN births per year (1990-2009), 60,000+ Death records, Hospital Discharge Records (approximately 1 million per year, 1997-2008), as well as Marriage (75,000 per year, 1990-2009) and Divorce (40,000/yr, 1990-2009) records.  In addition, we are "linking" such records together to examine various individual issues (e.g., a child's recurrent hospitalizations over time) and family issues (divorce within particular families). So far, we have examined (1) The amount, timing, and correlates of divorce among families of children with Down syndrome; (2) Hospitalizations in the child with Down syndrome's first two years of life; (3) Infant mortality among infants with Down syndrome (amount, timing, and correlates); and (4) Family reproductive patterns following the birht of the child with Down syndrome, with spina bifida, or with no identified disabilities. By detailing characteristics of family and child health in Down syndrome, our research is beneficial for conceptualizing and implementing a variety of social and medical services. 
     
    
        Keyword(s):
        Down syndrome,  spina bifida,  families,  divorce,  health,  infancy
     
    
        Core Function(s):
        Performing Research or Evaluation
     
    
        Area of Emphasis
        Health-Related Activities, Other
     
    
        Target Audience:
        Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
     
    
        Unserved or Under-served Populations:
        Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Specific Groups
     
    
        Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
        State
     
    
    
        COVID-19 Related Data:
        
                N/A