BIBLIOGRAPHIC INPUT SHEET TEMPORARY Patterns of mortality ...

xviii
Patternsof Mortalityin Childhood
The original design of the program (as in the case of the Inter-American
Investigation of Mortality in adults) called for the development of projects in
areas of the Americas with distinctly different patterns of mortality. Two
additional projects in Northern America were made possible by grants of funds
from other sources. In California, a project was conducted by the Maternal
and Child Health Division of the School of Public Health of the University
of California at Berkeley, with the assistance of a grant (No. MC-R-060052­
04-0) made by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
(Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children Services). In Canada, a
project conducted by the new Medical School of the University of Sherbrooke
was supported by two grants (Nos. 604-7-680 and 604-7-626) from the Department
of National Health and Welfare of Canada. We appreciate the contributions
of those agencies, as well as the cooperation of the principal collaborators
of those projects and their staffs.
The Investigation profited greatly by the inclusion of these two projects,
which brought the experience of areas where mortality has been reduced to
very low levels and deaths in childhood are concentrated principally in the first
few days of life. The many comparisons that can be drawn between patterns of
mortality in these areas and those in Latin America are of great value not only
to the Latin American areas but also to health workers concerned with mortality
in childhood in Canada, the United States, and other countries that have
low death rates. The :-.nalyses that were made of multiple causes and factors,
for example, indicate clearly that understanding of interrelationships of
causes-as they concern agent, host, and environment-must be gained through
the study of associated as well as underlying causes of morbidity and mortality,
so as to provide solid bases for health programs in the future.
Dr. Abraham Horwitz, the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau,
has given strong support for both of these Inter-American Investigations of
Mortality. For the present Investigation resources of the Headquarters Office
have been l)rovided as necessary. The Health Statistics Department has
rendered assistance throughout all phases of the work. The Computer Science
Section assumed a major responsibility for the computer processing of the data
of the Investigation, and in particular for programming the many tabulations
used for each project in this report. Continuous administrative assistance
was rendered by the Finance and Budget Sections. Finally, the publication
of this book in English and Spanish has been made possible by the valuable
assistance given by the staff of the Publications Services. Special appreciation
is expressed to the clerical and secretarial staff for their dedicated services.
In addition to those already mentioned, the contributions made by the
principal collaborators and other participants (listed on pp. ii-iii) and some
200 members of the field staff made it possible to bring the Investigation to
completion.
The success of this Investigation will depend on maximum utilization of
the results in three fields of action, namely: improvement and reorientation