Evolução das desigualdades socioeconômicas na mortalidade infantil no Brasil, 1993-2008

Abstract

In Brazil, infant and child mortalityreveal a downward trend. Few studies have investigatedthe temporal trends in the inequalitiesof these deaths, at individual level, according tosocio-economic status. The scope of this articlewas to investigate the temporal trends of the magnitudeof inequalities in infant and child mortality,between groups defined by maternal educationand household income per capita in the1993-2008 period in Brazil. Microdata from theNational Household Sample Survey wereused. The inequality measure was the concentrationindex (CI). It was calculated for infant andchild deaths, according to maternal educationand household income per capita. During the2003-2008 period, there was a reduction in inequalitiesin infant and child mortality, at individuallevel, and according to maternal educationand household income per capita. In 2008,the concentration of child deaths among childrenwhose mothers had less education was higher thanthe concentration of infant deaths. The CI accordingto income had greater variability, butalso demonstrated a lower concentration of deathsat the end of the period. The measurement of inequalitiesin health is important for monitoringthe population health situation.