Document Type

Article

Abstract

This report compares characteristics of Indian babies who die during the first year of life with those who survive that critical and highly vulnerable period. The report uses the linked birth/infant death data sets prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for the years 1983 through 1986. Data from the linked file include various health and demographic characteristics of the infant and parents recorded on the birth certificate at the time of the birth of the child. The linked file is a better measure of Indian infant mortality because there is evidence that there is underreporting of Indian race on death certificates in certain geographic areas. The racial categorization in this report is based on the race of both parents as it is reported on the birth certificate. The report uses the Indian Heath Service (IHS) definition of Indian as an infant whose mother or father is reported as Indian. The term Indian as it is used here includes the American Indian and Alaskan Native population. This report is a second in a series prepared by HIS from the linked birth/infant death data set; the first was based on a 1983 file. Numerous charts and graphs showing the number and percent distribution of American Indian and Native Alaskan infant deaths are included in the report.

Publication Date

1992

Publisher

Indian Health Service, Staff Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Research

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