Accurate monitoring of ethnic health disparities is dependent on accurate recording of patient ethni-city in settings such as hospitals. This study used self-reported ethnicity data from the Barriers to Diabetes Care in the Waikato study, and where patient consent was granted, compared it to the data available via hospital records. Hospital records correctly identified at least one self-identified ethnicity (many were multiple) in 97.7% of subjects. Ethnicity data were correct for only 71% of Mäori, compared to 99% of non-Mäori. When the figures for non-Mäori were broken down, the accuracy rates were 89% for Europeans, 67% for Pacific peoples, 70% for South Asians, 64% for Asians, and 41% for other ethnic groups. The authors note that; “researchers, clinicians, and policy makers must be cognisant of these continuing discrepancies when using hospital record data to describe ethnic variations in health status, service utilisation, or for policy planning activities.”
