Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
to present a method for estimating low birth weight (LBW) prevalence and infant mortality rate (IMR) indicators for Brazilian municipalities, so as to incorporate considerations with regard to sampling fluctuation.
METHODS:
binomial and Poisson distributions were used to estimate 95% confidence intervals (95%CI); when the number of infant deaths was zero, the upper limit of the 95%CI was estimated by the cross-multiplication method; indicators were estimated for the year 2012 for demonstration purposes.
RESULTS:
a slight increase in LBW and a decrease in IMR were detected as municipality population size increased; LBW estimates were more accurate than those for IMR; single-year estimates showed large width 95%CI in small municipalities and low reliability.
CONCLUSION:
an electronic spreadsheet was developed which will allow service managers to estimate the precision of these indicators for their municipalities.
Key words:
Infant Mortality; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Estimation Techniques; Cities; Epidemiological Surveillance/statistics & numerical data
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