Mexican American infant mortality rate: implications for public policy

Infants of Mexican American descent have lower infant mortality rates (IMRs) than do non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Because IMR is used in allocation methods for primary health care resources, the result could be discrimination against Mexican American populations in the distribution of resources. This study examined the National Center for Health Statistics' infant birth and death records, as well as unpublished data from the Bureau of Primary Health Care. This study found that the low Mexican American IMRs are real and not simply a data anomaly and that inclusion of birth outcomes has a small and mixed effect on the designation of high-Hispanic areas as being medically underserved or short of primary health care professionals. The authors suggest inclusion of an additional high-Hispanic health indicator in the designation criteria for health resources.