Avoidable child mortality and social vulnerability in vale do jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the occurrence of child mortality according to avoidability and social vulnerability criteria in Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais. Methods: a crosssectional study conducted with data from the Ministry of Health's information systems between 2009 and 2014. The social vulnerability index of the cities was considered and the causes of death were classified according to the list of preventable causes by SUS intervention. The proportions, and corrected rates of general and stratified child mortality were calculated. The differences were assessed using the Chi-square test, throughout the period and between the three year periods of 2009-11 and 2012-14. Results: the mean infant mortality rate was 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births. In the total, 69.6% of the deaths were classified as preventable. Reductions were observed of 35.7% and 26.1% in the preventable deaths due to actions of care to women during pregnancy (p = 0.00) and newborns (p = 0.04), respectively, and an increase of 71.3% in preventable deaths due to actions of care to women in childbirth (p = 0.01). A predominance of preventable deaths was demonstrated in municipalities with greater social vulnerability (p = 0.00). Conclusions: the results highlighted the importance of preventable causes related to health care at delivery and, despite the observed reductions, in pregnancy and the newborn. They also evidenced the highest proportion of preventable deaths in the most vulnerable population. The challenge of reducing this mortality indicates the urgency for actions aimed at reducing social inequalities, as well as the need for improvements in access and quality of care services.