BIBLIOGRAPHIC INPUT SHEET TEMPORARY Patterns of mortality ...

10 Patternsof Mortalityin Childhood
Fio. 2. Location of Projects in Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, and Chile.
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in part to include large rural areas having
distinctly different characteristics. These
two projects contribute the largest rural
populations in the Investigation. They also
include small central cities, thereby permitting
comparisons of childhood mortality
patterns in urban and rural populations.
The large geographic areas covered by the
two projects and their location in Argentina
are shown in Figure 2. The situation f
projects in the neighboring countries of
Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile is shown on this
same map of southern South America.
Chaco Province Project
The Province of Chaco touches on the
Republic of Paraguay, to the east, and is
bounded by the Argentine Provinces of
Formosa, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Santiago
del Estero, and Salta (Figure 2). It is part
of the Great Chaco Region, which embraces
adjoining lands of Paraguay and Bolivia
to form a large lowland plain extending
over 99,633 km 2 . It borders on the tropical
zone and in the summer season, which is hot
and humid, heavy rains in combination with
flat terrain produce widespread floods. Winters
are mild and dry. Economic development
of Chaco has been retarded by the
unfavorable climate and by inadequate
marketing and transportation facilities, as
well as by tropical pests, notably the locust.
Assets of the region include the quebracho
tree (source of tannin), cotton, and cattle.
At midpoint in the project (1 August
1969) the Province had an estimated population
of 564,091. Of the Province's 24
departments, seven were included in the
project (Figure 3), which in all covered
13,257 km 2 with an estimated population
of 260,920 (46.3 per cent of the Province's
total inhabitants). The provincial capital
is Resistencia, which contains nearly all the
population of San Fernando Department,
essentially an urban district. Thus in this
report a division is made between the urban
area (principally Resistencia, with an estimated
151,620 inhabitants) and the rural
area (the other six departments, with
109,300 inhabitants). Although these other
departments do have small cities, division
of data for the two-year period could be
made only for these two areas.
The principal collaborator held the post
of professor of hygiene and social medicine
at the University of the Northeast, and was
also statistical adviser to the Director of
Health of Chaco Province. The project
headquarters was in Resistencia, while the
School of Medicine of the University of the
Northeast is situated across the Paranfi
River in Corrientes.
San Juan Province, in the central-western
region of Argentina (Figures 2 and 4), is