Infant Mortality in Portugal
In the early years of the 21st century, Portugal recorded the lowest infant mortality rates in its history. In fact, when comparing the infant mortality rate recorded in 1970 (for every 1,000 children born, 53.7 died before completing their first year of life) to the rate achieved in 2008 (3.31‰), it is clear that the country has seen a considerable improvement in this indicator.
The decrease in this rate has been a widespread phenomenon throughout the world. Infant mortality fell by around 90% in several European countries, Japan and the United States of America during the 20th century, as well as in most countries with similar development standards to Portugal. However, a close look at the data for the last 40 years shows that no other European country has seen a similar trend to Portugal. In the period between 1970 and 2008, Portugal recorded a 94% reduction in its infant mortality rate, which is one of the most successful cases of infant mortality improvement.
Portugal was one of the countries that achieved the best results in this area and currently has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. In 2008, infant mortality in Portugal reached a record low of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 births. In fact, this is perhaps one of the most significant socioeconomic development indicators where Portugal stands out positively compared to the rest of the world.
Portugal's excellent ranking in this indicator has created a great deal of interest in doing an in-depth study of what is behind this success, seeking to identify the reasons and good practices that have helped to achieve this exceptional performance. This work, under the coordination of Xavier Barreto and José Pedro Correia, and the scientific coordination of Octávio Cunha, seeks to contribute to discussion on the subject by observing the changes in infant mortality indicators over the last few decades, as well as analysing the factors that may be associated with the reduction in the mortality rate that is so emblematic.
- What impact does the reduction in neonatal mortality and the reduction in post-neonatal mortality have on reducing infant mortality?
- What role do socioeconomic factors play in the results seen in Portugal?
- What role have changes in the health system played over the decades?
- Is this a change that has occurred naturally as a result of our developing as a society or has it come about as a result of a policy or strategy?
- What measures can be taken to ensure that these results continue in the future?
In order to answer these and other questions, the study you find here involved a team of doctors and nurses from the mother and child area, sociologists, experts in statistical analysis, hospital administrators and lawyers, in order to be able to carry out a complete and detailed analysis of the different dimensions of the phenomenon being studied, namely those related to the analysis of social factors and health factors that could be associated with the changes in the indicator.
