Infant mortality according to color or race based on the 2010 Population Census and national health information systems in Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate infant mortality data according to color or race in Brazil with a focus on indigenous individuals, based on data from the 2010 Population Census and the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM) and Brazilian Information System on Live Births (SINASC). In both sources, the infant mortality rate (IMR) for indigenous individuals was the highest of all the various population segments. Although the census data indicate inequalities by color or race, the infant mortality rates for indigenous and black individuals were lower than those based on data from SIM/SINASC. Methodological specificities in the data collection in the two sources should be considered. The reduction in IMR in Brazil in recent decades is largely attributed to the priority of infant health on the policy agenda. The study's findings indicate that the impact of public policies failed to reach indigenous peoples on the same scale as in the rest of the population. New sources of nationwide data on deaths in households, as in the case of the 2010 Census, can contribute to a better understanding of inequalities by color or race in Brazil.