Record linkage in the historical population register for norway

The Historical Population Register (HPR) of Norway aims to cover the country’s population between 1800 and 1964 when the current Central Population Register (CPR) takes over. This may be feasible due to relatively complete church and other vital registers filling the gaps between the decennial censuses-In 1801 and from 1865 these censuses were nominative. Because of legal reasons with respect to privacy, a restricted access database will be constructed for the period ca. 1920 until 1964. We expect, however, that the software we have developed for automating record linkage in the open period until 1920 will also be applicable in the later period. This chapter focuses on the record linkage between the censuses and the church registers for the period 1800 until around 1920. We give special attention to database structure, the identification of individuals and challenges concerning record linkage. The potentially rich Nordic source material will become optimally accessible once the nominal records are linked in order to describe persons, families and places longitudinally with permanent ids for all persons and source entries. This has required the development of new linkage techniques combining both automatic and manual methods, which have already identified more than a million persons in two or more sources. Local databases show that we may expect linkage rates between two-thirds and 90 % for different periods and parts of the country. From an international perspective, there are no comparable open HPRs with the same countrywide coverage built by linking multiple source types. Thus, the national population registry of Norway will become a unique historical source for the last two centuries, to be used in many different multi-disciplinary research projects. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Tuberkulosedød i Nord

Sammendrag Denne artikkelen er en nærstudie av tuberkulosedødelighet i Tromsø by i en periode med sterk befolkningsvekst og tettere bosetting. Fra og med 1878 har vi tilgang på en tilnærmet fullstendig registrering av individuelle dødsårsaker i begravelsesprotokollene for Tromsø, og sammenstilt med folketellingene av 1875, 1885, 1900, 1910 og 1920 har vi rekonstruert Tromsøs befolkning etter kjønn og alder for å kunne beregne dødelighetsrater basert på de som til enhver tid var under risiko for å dø i perioden 1878 til 1920. Våre funn viser at kvinner i aldersgruppen 15 til 49 år hadde en høyere dødelighet av tuberkulose, sammenliknet med menn, spesielt i tiårene før århundreskiftet. Hva som forårsaket disse tuberkulosedødsfallene er komplekst, men vi søker her å løfte frem tre forhold som kan bidra til en økt forståelse av både alder- og kjønnsforskjellene, nemlig mangelen på pasteurisering av melk, arvet motstandsdyktighet og migrasjon

Marriage patterns and residential behaviour among Norwegian women in Amsterdam, 1621-1720

Using marriage banns registers from the Amsterdam City Archives, this study identifies the demographic and spatial behaviour of Norwegian female immigrants to Amsterdam, a city that witnessed rapid economic and population growth during the seventeenth century. The article approaches the topic by making: (1) an ethnic distinction between mixed Norwegian/non-Norwegian unions and homogeneous all-Norwegian unions, as well as (2) a distinction by husband's occupation in these unions, whether at sea or on land. Like all women in Amsterdam, Norwegian women experienced a general pressure in the marriage market around 1675, though a somewhat lower pressure for homogeneous unions with sailors. Occupation may explain the residential pattern, suggesting that work defined neighbourhoods more than ethnicity

Mortality and Causes of Death in Late 19th-Century Trondheim, Norway (with Reference to Parish Registers Analysis)

Translated from English.Submitted: 11.06.2019. Accepted: 08.04.2020.Настоящая статья представляет собой переработанную версию текста, ранее опубликованного на английском языке: Sommerseth H. L., Walhout E. C. Chapter 10. Death in a city: a view from the 19th century church registers in Norway. DOI 10.15826/B978-5-7996-2656-3.11 // Nominative Data in Demographic Research in the East and the West / ed. by E. Glavatskaya, G. Thorvaldsen, G. Fertig, M. Szoltysek. Ekaterinburg : Ural Univ. Press, 2019. P. 185–201.Перевод с английского языка.Поступила в редакцию: 11.06.2019. Принята к печати: 08.04.2020.Исследование посвящено детальному анализу смертности в Тронхейме — третьем по величине городе Норвегии во второй половине XIX в. На основе индивидуальных данных о причинах смерти, содержащихся в приходских книгах города Тронхейма, анализируются причины смерти и практики их регистрации, а также те изменения, которые проходили в условиях роста урбанизации и индустриализации. Изучив историю регистрации причин смерти в Норвегии, авторы проанализировали аккуратность регистрации, проводимой священниками, а также возрастные особенности распространения отдельных смертельных заболеваний. Использованная в статье классификация, включающая 141 категорию заболеваний, выработана на основе анализа этиологии, способов заражения и передачи заболевания. Для простоты анализа все варианты записей, в которых были указаны или не указаны причины заболеваний, приведшие к смерти жителей Тронхейма, были распределены по шести основным группам: инфекционные заболевания; неинфекционные заболевания; внешние причины; устаревшие термины; технически нечитаемые; без указания причины. Использованная методика позволила оценить эпидемиологическую ситуацию в условиях, когда профессиональная медицинская статистика была еще недостаточно развита в стране. Проведенный анализ показал, что во второй половине XIX в. наиболее частой причиной смерти жителей Тронхейма являлись инфекционные заболевания, передаваемые воздушно-капельным путем. В особенности от них страдали дети в возрасте от года до четырех лет, 60 % смертей в этой возрастной группе было вызвано именно этой причиной. Относительно низкий уровень заболеваемости инфекционными заболеваниями, передаваемыми через воду и пищевые продукты, такими как диарея и дизентерия, свидетельствует о том, что водопроводные трубы, установленные уже в 1850-е гг., а начиная с 1880 г. также внутри домов, оказали определенное воздействие в дополнение к повышению уровня личной гигиены, рассматриваемому Городской комиссией по здоровью как главный приоритет. Для описания причин смерти самых маленьких и самых старших жителей города чаще всего использовались устаревшие народные термины.This article provides detailed analysis of mortality in Trondheim, the third largest city in Norway in the second half of the nineteenth century. Referring to individuallevel causes of death available in burial registers from Trondheim, this study provides an in-depth analysis of reporting practices and trends in cause of death registration and changes in a city that witnessed increasing urbanisation and industrialisation. Having studied the history of causes of death registration in Norway, the authors analyse the accuracy of recording practices performed by priests and age-specific profiles of individual death causes. The coding and classification system employed by the authors includes 141 categories following the etiology or mode of infection and transmission. To facilitate the analysis, all the entries found in records, both the ones that indicate the causes of death of the inhabitants of Trondheim and fail to do so, are divided into six major groups, i.e. infectious diseases; non-infectious diseases; external causes; older rationals; ill-defined, and not reported (blank). Treated critically, the data generates interesting insights into the epidemiological history of a period where cause of death statistics from doctors was still scarce in most of the country. The analysis demonstrates that in the second half of the nineteenth century, airborne infectious diseases dominated the disease environment in Trondheim. Airborne diseases were particularly common in children aged one to four, accounting for 60 percent of the total of deaths among children of the age group. As for foodborne infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea and dysentery, the study indicates that the water pipes which started being used as early as the 1850s and from 1880 also appeared inside houses, had a certain effect, in addition to the top priority of personal hygiene addressed by the city’s Health Commission. Moreover, the cause of death classification related to ‘older rationales’ had a clear clustering both among the elderly and children

Ultrasound's 'window on the womb' brings ethical challenges for balancing maternal and fetal health interests : obstetricians' experiences in Australia

BACKGROUND: Obstetric ultrasound has become a significant tool in obstetric practice, however, it has been argued that its increasing use may have adverse implications for women's reproductive freedom. This study aimed to explore Australian obstetricians' experiences and views of the use of obstetric ultrasound both in relation to clinical management of complicated pregnancy, and in situations where maternal and fetal health interests conflict. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken as part of the CROss-Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS). Interviews were held in November 2012 with 14 obstetricians working in obstetric care in Victoria, Australia. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: One overall theme emerged from the analyses: The ethical challenge of balancing maternal and fetal health interests, built on four categories: First, Encountering maternal altruism' described how pregnant women's often 'altruistic' position in relation to the health and wellbeing of the fetus could create ethical challenges in obstetric management, particularly with an increasing imbalance between fetal benefits and maternal harms. Second, 'Facing shifting attitudes due to visualisation and medico-technical advances' illuminated views that ultrasound and other advances in care have contributed to a shift in what weight to give maternal versus fetal welfare, with increasing attention directed to the fetus. Third, 'Guiding expectant parents in decision-making' described the difficult task of facilitating informed decision-making in situations where maternal and fetal health interests were not aligned, or in situations characterised by uncertainty. Fourth, 'Separating private from professional views' illuminated divergent views on when the fetus can be regarded as a person. The narratives indicated that the fetus acquired more consideration in decision-making the further the gestation progressed. However, there was universal agreement that obstetricians could never act on fetal grounds without the pregnant woman's consent. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that medico-technical advances such as ultrasound have set the scene for increasing ethical dilemmas in obstetric practice. The obstetricians interviewed had experienced a shift in previously accepted views about what weight to give maternal versus fetal welfare. As fetal diagnostics and treatment continue to advance, how best to protect pregnant women's right to autonomy requires careful consideration and further investigation