Pediatric National Fatality Review – Case Reporting System (Pediatric NFR-CRS)
The Pediatric NFR-CRS system is for epidemiologists and other researchers who are conducting data analysis of stillbirths and the deaths of newborns, infants, and children.
Specialized teams – typically called CDR (Child Death Review) and FIMR (Fetal and Infant Mortality Review) – enter circumstances of death into the Pediatric NFR-CRS system. Epidemiologists and other researchers can access this database to generate, summarize, and share insights to prevent deaths in the earliest stages of life and make communities safer.
How it works
The Pediatric National Fatality Review – Case Reporting System (Pediatric NFR-CRS) is the first national U.S. data system for compiling, analyzing, and learning from the circumstances of pediatric deaths. This one-of-a-kind system gives researchers tools to check data quality, run analyses, generate reports, and more.
How we help
The Pediatric NFR-CRS enables fatality review teams, epidemiologists, and other researchers to collect, analyze, and report comprehensive data of stillbirths and the deaths of newborns, infants, and children. To do this:
- We built and currently maintain the first national U.S. data system for compiling, analyzing, and learning from cases of pediatric death. This one-of-a-kind system gives researchers tools to check data quality, run analyses, generate reports, and more.
- We offer practical training, technical assistance, and “help desk” support for researchers, fatality review teams, and their coordinators who are getting started or want to learn the latest methods for data analysis, data visualization, or reporting.
Data products
Data Quality Initiative
The National Center began a Data Quality Initiative (DQI) to improve the quality and consistency of the data entered into Pediatric NFR-CRS. The overarching goal of the DQI is to improve the usefulness of the data at the state and national level for identifying prevention strategies and monitoring the effectiveness of prevention. The CDR DQI began in 2015, and the FIMR DQI began in 2020.
Technical assistance related to improving data quality, developing a data quality monitoring program, or refining existing data quality efforts is available, upon request.
Tools for researchers
The National Center has developed policies and guidelines for researchers interested in using the Pediatric NFR-CRS data. There are countless topics researchers could potentially investigate. It is important to know, however, that there are limitations on the type of data that can be released and the way data can be analyzed and interpreted. Research applications are reviewed by a committee of experts with respect to the quality of the research questions, proposed methodology, and consistent with the purpose of fatality review. Only researchers affiliated with institutions with IRB capacity may apply. There may be a fee for obtaining a dataset.