A data quality assessment and estimation of infant and child mortality among Palestinian refugees

Selin Köksal , the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Oona Campbell, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Zeina Jamaluddine, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Akihiro Seita, UNRWA
José Manuel Aburto, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Violent conflict disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, particularly children, yet conflict-affected populations remain understudied due to challenging living circumstances that make traditional data collection difficult. Electronic data linkages offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional birth cohort studies for examining health outcomes in these populations, though the quality of such data in conflict settings requires careful assessment. This study conducts a comprehensive data quality assessment and mortality estimation using a unique linked dataset of nearly 1 million Palestinian refugee children born between December 2001 and December 2020 across United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) service settings in the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. We systematically assess key quality indicators including age heaping, undercounting and conduct survival analysis to further evaluate data quality by various sociodemographic subgroups. We will then estimate infant and child mortality rates, examining variations across geographic settings, time periods, and by key demographic characteristics. The findings will inform future research using administrative data in conflict settings and contribute to knowledge on child health outcomes among hard-to-reach populations.

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 Presented in Session 75. Health and Mortality in Migrant Populations