Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Changes to 2000-2014 Death Data
July, 2017
The 2000-2014 death data files in the NJSHAD System were updated as a result of a major data file cleaning project. The main goal of the project was to put all annual files into the same format with the same coding to make it easier for researchers to use older data files based on the 1989 U.S. standard death certificate with newer files based on the 2003 U.S. standard death certificate.
In doing so, records that the New Jersey Department of Health received over the years after annual file cut-off dates, mostly deaths that occurred to New Jersey residents while out of state, were added. The result is an additional 7,005 resident deaths in the files over the 15-year period. Annually, the count increased by as little as 45 deaths (2001) to as many as 1,177 (2006).
Missing or invalid information was also researched and corrected, when possible.
There is also a slight, corresponding overall increase to the annual New Jersey death rate for 2000-2014 from what has previously been reported. NJSHAD mortality indicator reports have all been updated with data from the standardized and updated files.