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State of Alaska

Health Indicator Report of Infant Mortality

Infant mortality is the most widely used measure of population health and the quality of health care. Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before their first birthday. Infant mortality represents a long-standing concern of public health. The infant mortality rate is not only seen as a measure of the risk of infant death but it is used more broadly as a crude indicator of: [[br]]* Community health status; [[br]]* Poverty and socioeconomic status levels in a community; and [[br]]* Availability and quality of health services and medical technology. The health and well-being of children and families across the globe are measured by infant mortality rates. Wide acceptance and the relative ease of calculating the annual rate have resulted in the infant mortality rate being commonly used for comparisons across regions, populations and time periods. Such comparisons of infant mortality rates are frequently used in needs assessments and to evaluate the impact of public health programs.^1^[[br]] [[br]] ---- {{class .SmallerFont 1. State Infant Mortality Toolkit. [http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/data-assessment/InfantMortalityToolkit/Documents/Why%20Focus%20on%20IM.pdf] Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs. Accessed on July 19, 2019. }}

Deaths at Under 1 Year of Age per 1,000 Live Births by boroughs and census areas, all Alaskans, 2009-2018 (10-year average)


Notes

Data for infant mortality calculated by Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Unit (MCH-Epi), Section of Women's, Children's and Family Health in August 2019. Birth certificate data updated by HAVRS on August 6, 2019. Death certificate data updated by HAVRS on August 6, 2019.   Census area is determined by maternal residence at birth, not site of delivery. Rates based upon fewer than 20 occurrences are statistically unreliable and should be used with caution. Rates based on fewer than 6 occurrences are not reported. Small population sizes in some census areas caused infant mortality rates to be unreliable or not listed. Unreliable rates may not accurately reflect the true underlying risk in the population. ** = Data not available Results for Skagway Municipality and Hoonah-Angoon Census Area are replicated from the combined earlier Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. Results for the Wrangell Borough and the Petersburg Borough are replicated from the combined earlier Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area.

Data Source

[http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/VitalStats/Pages/default.aspx Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (HAVRS)], Division of Public Health, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

Definition

Infant deaths are those that occur between birth and one year of age. The infant mortality rate is the number of infants who died between birth and one year of age, divided by the total number of live births in the same time period. The infant mortality rate is presented per 1,000 live births.

Numerator

Number of infants who died between birth and one year of age among the resident population for a specific time period. Neonatal: Number of infant deaths aged 0 to 27 days among the resident population Post-neonatal: Number of infant deaths aged 28 days through 11 months among the resident population.

Denominator

Number of live births among the resident population for a specific time period.

Healthy People Objective: All infant deaths (within 1 year)

U.S. Target: 6.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births

Other Objectives

Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to States Program: National Outcome Measure 9.1 - Infant Mortality. For more information:[https://mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov/PrioritiesAndMeasures/NationalOutcomeMeasures]

How Are We Doing?

Alaska's infant mortality rate for 2018 was 5.9 per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality rates for Alaska Native people have been higher than the Alaska average. After a period of steady declines in infant mortality culminating in 2010, there has been a recent increase in infant mortality in Alaska.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

In 2017, the U.S. rate of infant mortality was 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.^2^ In 2017, Alaska's infant mortality rate of 5.6 per 1,000 live births was ranked 18th among all states and was 1.7% lower than the national rate.^3^ Despite an increase in recent years, infant mortality rates have been declining in Alaska and the U.S. since 1990. Neonatal infant mortality (deaths at less than 28 days) in Alaska have generally been lower than the U.S. rate as a whole, while postneonatal deaths (deaths at 28 days to 1 year) have typically been higher in Alaska than the U.S. average.[[br]] [[br]] ---- {{class .SmallerFont 2. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Infant Mortality. [https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm]. Accessed July 15, 2019. 3. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Infant Mortality Rates by State. [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/infant_mortality_rates/infant_mortality.htm]. Accessed July 15, 2019. }}

What Is Being Done?

Health care providers and women can work together before and during pregnancy to address problems if they arise and improve women's chances for healthy outcomes. The State of Alaska established the Alaska Maternal and Child Death Review (MCDR) in 1989. The goal of MCDR is to reduce fetal, infant and maternal mortality in Alaska through a committee review process of all fetal, infant, and maternal death records.^4^ Alaska's Title V Maternal Child Health program addresses infant mortality through a variety of programs such as the Alaska Infant Safe Sleep Project that partner with birthing facilities to promote consistent and evidence-based infant safe sleep messages.^5^ See [https://mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov/Home/StateApplicationOrAnnualReport] [[br]] [[br]] ---- {{class .SmallerFont 4. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Alaska Maternal and Child Death Review (MCDR). [http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/wcfh/Pages/mchepi/mcdr/default.aspx]. Accessed July 15, 2019. 5. Alaska Infant Safe Sleep Project. [http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/wcfh/Pages/perinatal/safesleep.aspx]. Accessed July 15, 2019. }}
Page Content Updated On 08/14/2019, Published on 08/27/2019
The information provided above is from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' Center for Health Data and Statistics, Alaska Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health (Ak-IBIS) web site (http://ibis.dhss.alaska.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Sat, 18 January 2020 from Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Center for Health Data and Statistics, Alaska Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health web site: http://ibis.dhss.alaska.gov ".

Content updated: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 08:31:46 AKDT
The information provided above is from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' Center for Health Data and Statistics AK-IBIS web site (http://ibis.dhss.alaska.gov/). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Sat, 18 January 2020 8:43:15 from Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Center for Health Data and Statistics, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.dhss.alaska.gov/ ".

Content updated: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 08:31:46 AKDT