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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce the rate of infant deaths — MICH‑02 Data Methodology and Measurement

This objective is a Leading Health Indicator (LHI). Learn about LHIs.

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set, CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 5.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births occurred within the first year of life in 2017

Target: 5.0 per 1,000

Numerator
Number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age.
Denominator
Number of live births.
Target-setting method
Projection
Target-setting method details
Linear trend fitted using weighted least squares and a projection at the 75 percent prediction interval.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective. Using historical data points, a trend line was fitted using weighted least squares, and the trend was projected into the next decade. This method was used because three or more comparable data points were available, the projected value was within the range of possible values, and a projection at the 75 percent prediction interval was selected because the slope of the linear trend was statistically significant. Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts took into account the progress of the past decade.

Methodology

Methodology notes

To create linked data files, death certificates are linked with corresponding birth certificates for infants who die in the U.S. before their first birthday. The linked file is used for calculating infant mortality rates by mother's race and ethnicity because these variables are more accurately collected on the birth certificate than the death certificate.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.

1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.