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Show Infant Mortality (1995 Total Deaths in Utah =2057) Infant deaths are classified as death of individuals under one year of age per 1,000 live births. In Utah and the United States, infant deaths have been generally decreasing since 1950. The rate of decrease has been consistent in both Utah and the nation. Utah infant mortality rates have been consistently lower than the nation. In 1995, Utah reached an all time low rate of infant mortality. The downward trend is significant in many ways. It suggests success in programs aimed at reducing infant mortality such as better prenatal care, improved care of high risk pregnancies and high risk infants, as well as increased education of new mothers. Infant death rates are also considered good indicators of the overall health status of a community or population. Further analysis of infant mortality rates in population subgroups may reveal disparities between racial, ethnic, education level, or other subgroups. This information could prove important in identifying where health care needs are not yet met within a community and programs could be specifically designed to assist targeted groups. Measures of infant mortality by race are becoming increasingly useful because it allows law makers to target the areas that need the most help. State and Federal revenues can then be put to better use in helping those targeted areas. Table 21 r. Infant Mortality* Year Utah U.S. Year Utah U.S. 1950 23.9 29.2 1973 12.7 17.7 1951 24.9 28.4 1974 12.2 16.7 1952 24.9 28.4 1975 13.1 16.1 1953 24.0 27.8 1976 11.7 15.2 1954 20.8 26.6 1977 10.0 14.1 1955 20.6 26.4 1978 11.4 13.8 1956 22.9 26.0 1979 10.7 13.1 1957 21.5 26.3 1980 10.4 12.6 1958 22.2 27.1 1981 9.8 11.9 1959 20.0 26.4 1982 11.0 11.5 1960 19.7 26.0 1983 8.7 11.2 1961 20.2 25.3 1984 9.1 10.8 1962 20.0 25.3 1985 9.6 10.6 1963 18.6 25.2 1986 8.5 10.4 1964 20.2 24.8 1987 8.8 10.1 1965 18.8 24.7 1988 8.0 9.9 1966 18.3 23.7 1989 8.0 9.7 1967 16.7 22.4 1990 7.4 9.2 1968 17.7 21.8 1991 6.2 8.9 1969 15.8 20.9 1992 5.9 8.5 1970 15.0 20.0 1994 6.1 7.9 1972 13.4 18.5 1995 5.2 8.0 Figure 17 ?Rate per 100,000 resident live births. Table. 27. Source: U.S.: Utah Dept. Of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. Unpublished Report. Utah Department of Health. Division of Community Health Statistics. Action 2000. Infant Mortality Deaths Under One Year of Age per 100,000 Live Births 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 86 |