The assessment of preventable infant and child deaths in developing countries: some applications of a new index.

This article briefly reviews epidemiological and demographic measures used to assess preventable deaths in developing country situations. Problems with the use of the infant mortality rate (IMR) as a health-policy indicator are illustrated. The Matlab experience of rural Bangladesh is used to develop a new index for preventable infant and child deaths. This index, based on a statistical transformation of usual demographic measures, links mortality levels and cause-of-death structure. The use of this index is illustrated with applications to Asia and Africa. It is claimed that the index exhibits more clearly the difficulty involved in the control of particular causes of death, thus providing important information for health policy makers.