Spatial distribution of proportional infant mortality and certain socioeconomic variables in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The study reported here,which was conducted in Salvador, Brazil,examines patterns of infant mortality in different portions of that city. Because the available 1980 data on the number of live births were not broken down by reporting zones, the study employs proportional infant mortality (the number of infant deaths as a percentage of all deaths) as an indicator. It also groups the city’s reporting zones into quartiles according to their levels of proportional infant mortality and makes statistical comparisons between these quartiles with respect to various socioeconomic and medical indicators.