From Deathbed to Database using ICD10h: a framework for coding and classifying individual English language cause of death data consistently over time, as applied to Scotland 1855-1973

This paper describes the development of, and principles behind, ICD10h, a system for the coding and categorisation of individual-level causes of death from 1855 to the present day. ICD10h provides an adaptation of the WHO’s ICD10 (2016 version) which, by supplying additional codes for archaic terms together with a suggested categorisation, allows broad disease groups to be followed over time. It is a flexible system which allows researchers to code, classify and study historic (h), individual level, cause of death information in the English language, both in fine detail and at more aggregated levels. Our paper outlines the background and development of the system, before describing its principles and key characteristics. It demonstrates the system in action using individual level cause of death data for Scotland 1855-1973, as well as several smaller datasets and the published returns from the Registrar General of Scotland.