Determinants of infant mortality disparities in Escambia County, Florida

Objective: The United States infant mortality is higher than those in most industrialized nations at 6.71 percent. Even within different ethnic and racial groups, disparities exist. The infant mortality among Blacks is 2.4 times the rate among non-Hispanic blacks. The Florida rate (7.2%) is slightly higher than the national rate. Greater disparities are observed within racial group with rates of Blacks (13.3%) more than twice the rate of whites (5.4%) statewide. These disparities increase when one examines data at the county level. Escambia County has an overall three year infant mortality rate of 7.5% while the rates for whites and blacks in the county are 5.3% and 12.1% respectively. Using data from the Florida Department of Health, this study examines the causes of differences in infant mortality in Escambia County, Florida. Factors such as the use of pre-natal services and access to support services for new mothers in Iow income communities will be explored. Methods: Using linked data from the Florida Department of Health, descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis will be used and provided with geographic information systems to map out census tracts in the county that are correlated with high infant mortality rates. Results: Statistically significant variables will be reported and policy recommendations discussed.