Регионални аспекти на детската смъртност в България (1992 – 2001 г.)
Regional Aspects of Infant Mortality Rate in Bulgaria (1992-2001)

Summary/Abstract: The problem of infant mortality rate in Bulgaria during the last decade of the 20th Century is presented. The main accent of the study is laid on the regional level. At first the problem is analyzed at the national level, presenting both the dynamics of the coefficients during the period and their interrelations in two aspects – gender and residence. Then a thorough review of infant mortality at regional level in the same aspects is presented. The most important conclusions of the study at this stage are as follows: q Infant mortality rate has been decreasing during the period at the national level. However, nearly a half of the regions in Bulgaria registered the reverse trend. q Male infants have had constantly higher coefficients; the difference has been bigger in rural populations and appears to rise. q Infants born in rural resident families have been at a substantially higher risk for health and life if compared with urban residents; the gap tends to widen. q A very important characteristic of the contemporary infant mortality regime in Bulgarian regions is the exceptional diversity of coefficients, interrelations and trends. The authors consider it an entirely negative feature of infant mortality, relating closely to the social-economic crisis of the transition to market economy. q Some big deviations from the average characteristics of regional infant mortality may be due to the very small numbers of both newborn and infant deaths, especially in some small regions. However, the techniques of statistical inference applied in the study helped to solve the problem of small numbers quite successfully.

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