Indigenous health equity in health register ascertainment and data quality: a narrative review

Background Health registers play an important role in monitoring distribution of disease and quality of care; however, benefit is limited if ascertainment (i.e., the process of finding and recruiting people on to a register) and data quality (i.e., the accuracy, completeness, reliability, relevance, and timeliness of data) are poor. Indigenous peoples experience significant health inequities globally, yet health data for, and about, Indigenous peoples is often of poor quality. This narrative review aimed to (i) identify perceived barriers for the ascertainment of Indigenous peoples on health registers, and (ii) collate strategies identified and used by health registers to support comprehensive ascertainment and high-quality data for Indigenous peoples. Methods A Kaupapa Maori theoretical framework was utilized to guide this work. Four electronic databases were systematically searched for original articles and screened for eligibility. Studies involving health registers with Indigenous population(s) identified were included if either ascertainment or data quality strategies were described. Data extraction focused on the reporting of research involving Indigenous peoples using the CONSIDER checklist domains, ascertainment, and data quality. Results Seventeen articles were included spanning publication between 1992 and 2020. Aspects of four of eight CONSIDER domains were identified to be included in the reporting of studies. Barriers to ascertainment were themed as relating to 'ethnicity data collection and quality', 'systems and structures', 'health services/health professionals', and 'perceptions of individual and community-level barriers'. Strategies to support ascertainment were categorized as 'collaboration', 'finding people', and 'recruitment processes'. Categorized strategies to support data quality were 'collaboration', 'ethnicity data collection and quality', 'systems-level strategies', and 'health service/health professional-level strategies'. Conclusions Poor-quality data for Indigenous peoples in health registers prevents the achievement of health equity and exemplifies inaction in the face of need. When viewed through a critical structural determinants lens, there are visible gaps in the breadth of strategies, particularly relating to the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in health register and research governance, and actions to identify and address institutional racism. Indigenous led research, meaningful collaboration, and a sharing of knowledge and experiences between health registers is recommended to enable research and health registers that support Indigenous self-determination and health equity.