The Brazilian hospital system as a source of information to estimate stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates

Studies on the evolution of infant mortality rate are very relevant. Nevert heless, lack of vital statistics in Brazil limits the temporal and spatial analysis of this indicator: This study aims to investigate the possible use of the Brazilian Hospital Information System as an alternative information source for stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates by age group. Methods A new method to estimate the stillbirth and neonatal mortality rate s is proposed. It was applied in a set of selected Brazilian states in the year of 1995. For comparative purposes, the Brazilian Death Information Sys tem was assessed to estimate the mortality rates under study, after adjusti ng the registered number of live births by rising a demographic tool. Results By assessing the Hospital Information System a larger number of fet al and early neonatal deaths were observed when compared to data give by th e death information system of the Northeastern states. Besides, in the Sout hern and Southeastern states, where death records are mole thorough, the mo rtality rates calculated rising both information sources were very similar: Conclusions The results suggest that the proposed methodology could greatly contribute to the analysis of the spatial-time evolution of stillbirth and neonatal death rates in recent years in Brazil, as data on death registrat ion in the majority of the Bi-azilian states are less thorough than those f rom the hospital information system.