Health Data in the Community: Birth and Death Registration in Timor-Leste

Birth and death registration is a crucial component of civil registration and public health systems. Registration is carried out through community reporting by local leaders to health workers, which is then forwarded to the country's National Statistical System, particularly in Timor-Leste. The study aimed to find out the birth and death registration in villages in Timor- Leste. The methods used in this study are a qualitative descriptive method. The research was conducted at 14 municipalities in Timor-Leste. The instruments used for data collection included the questionnaire, which was helped by the mWater application for interviews with heads of families. Technical Analysis uses descriptive statistics supported by the SPSS version 22.0. This study indicates that the registration of birth data within communities varied across municipalities, with the highest rates observed in Atauro (98.0%), Lautem (79.1%), and Manatuto (91.6%). Similarly, the perception of registering family death data with local leaders also showed significant differences by municipality, with Atauro (99.5%) and Aileu (84.2%) showing the highest reported perceptions, while Dili (51.6%) and Bobonaro (64.1%) registered lower rates. The study concluded that to enhance birth registration coverage, increased investment, innovation promotion, procedural simplification, and improved coordination between the health and civil registration sectors are necessary. Governments and local leaders should boost public awareness, strengthen the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system, and implement context- specific strategies tailored to local socio-cultural conditions.