D'Souza S
United Nations Development Programme, Cotonou, Bénin.
World Health Stat Q. 1989;42(1):16-25.
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.
本文简要回顾了用于评估发展中国家可预防死亡情况的流行病学和人口统计学指标。文中阐述了将婴儿死亡率（IMR）用作卫生政策指标所存在的问题。以孟加拉国农村地区的马特莱布经验为基础，制定了一项新的可预防婴幼儿死亡指数。该指数基于对常规人口统计学指标的统计转换，将死亡率水平与死因结构联系起来。通过在亚洲和非洲的应用展示了该指数的用途。据称，该指数能更清晰地展现控制特定死因所涉及的困难，从而为卫生政策制定者提供重要信息。
