ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To characterize breastfeeding patterns in the first six months of life and factors associated with early weaning in a birth-cohort in Rio Branco, state of Acre. METHODS: This is a prospective study with all babies born between April and June 2015. The mothers were interviewed soon after birth and between 6 and 15 months postpartum. At hospital discharge, breastfeeding was defined as exclusively (EBF), and breastfeeding (BF). In the follow-up, breastfeeding patterns were exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), predominant breastfeeding […]

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Analyze the trend of infant mortality in Rio Branco, state of Acre, from 1999 to 2015. METHODS An ecological observational study of a time series, in which data from deaths from the Information System on Mortality and Births of the Information System on Live Births were used. The annual percentage change was estimated using the Joinpoint software. RESULTS The infant mortality rate decreased from 26.99 in 1999 to 14.50 in 2015 per 1,000 live births, with an annual […]

OBJECTIVE To analyze the temporal evolution of maternal mortality and its spatial distribution. METHODS Ecological study with a sample made up of 845 maternal deaths in women between 10 and 49 years, registered from 1999 to 2008 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. Data were obtained from Information System on Mortality of Ministry of Health. The maternal mortality ratio and the specific maternal mortality ratio were calculated from records, and analyzed by the Poisson regression model. […]

OBJECTIVE: To analyze Brazilian municipalities according to morbidity and effectiveness of epidemiological inspection control of tuberculosis and AIDS. METHODS: Exploratory analysis of two non-hierarchical data clusters of epidemiological inspection data on tuberculosis and AIDS, and operational indicators of the Programa Nacional de Controle de Tuberculose (National Tuberculosis Control Program), from 2001 to 2003. The distribution was stratified in metropolitan areas and priority municipalities, according to the size of the population. The association between morbidity clusters and effectiveness was evaluated by […]

The objective of this study was to analyze, on the national level, the process of monitoring the proposed UNGASS indicators through the use of the Brazilian National Program for STD/AIDS indicators. Two groups of proposed indicators were analyzed in 2002 and 2005 respectively, as part of the monitoring of the progress of the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment. The availability of information and limitations in calculating the proposed indicators in Brazil were analyzed and the appropriateness of the indicators for monitoring […]

There are, very often, considerable discrepancies when countries are ranked according to the values of each of the common health indicators. By the use of computed linear discriminant functions the authors developed a single indicator designed to convey the information gathered from the following health indicators: life expectancy at birth (LE), birth rate (BR), infant mortality rate (IMR), quantified indicator of Guedes (GI), general mortality rate (GMR) and mortality rate (MR) by infective and parasitic diseases (MRIPD), the last two […]

OBJECTIVE: The relation between income and mortality due to violence has been studied in recent years. The Synthesis of Social Indicators of 2002 [Síntese de Indicadores Sociais, 2002], published by The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), states that one of the most outstanding characteristic of Brazilian society is inequality. The proposal of this ecological study was to test the association between homicide rates, and some health and socioeconomic indicators. METHODS: This is an ecological cross-sectional study. Data regarding […]

Using reliable data from 34 countries for the years 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1980 it was observed that the proportional mortality ratio for 50 years of age and above, proposed by Swaroop & Uemura, did not provide the best discriminatory power between more and less developed countries in any of the years studied. In 1970 and 1980, the greatest discriminatory power was obtained by using the proportional mortality ratio for 75 years of age and above. The displacement of deaths […]

The Lost Years of Life Rate (LYLR), proposed by Haenszel in 1950, but since then seldom mentioned in literature, was studied. By using reliable populational data from various countries, and from regions of the State of S.Paulo, they showed that: a) It is convenient to employ 75 years as the age limit for the calculation of the LYLR, as well as a ten-year interval for the age classes that follow the first and second ones (less than 1, and 1 […]

No reliable data are available from most Brazilian states for a number of child health indicators, such as nutritional status, breast feeding, vaccine coverage, incidence and management of infectious diseases, and coverage of antenatal and perinatal services. How ever a methodology has been developed for state-wide, community-based health surveys for the obtaining of such information, which was recently applied in studies of representative samples of children from the states of Ceará, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte in Northeastern Brazil. […]