Abstract:
This study seeks “to compare race as reported by the mother on North Carolina birth certificates with the data on race on the officially reported statistics.†The study concluded “that given the opportunity to report their own race, North Carolinians describe their race with a wide variety of terms and concepts. In contrast, health statistics are usually reported using a few standardized racial categories defined by federal policy.†Standard terms would include White, Black, Indian, and Chinese. Self-chosen identification includes White/Hispanic, Egyptian/Canadian, and Cambodian.