[Evaluation of information systems on live births and mortality in Brazil in the 2000s]

The Brazilian Ministry of Health's mortality and live birth information systems (SIM and SINASC) are valuable tools for measuring population health status. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of vital information systems from 1999-2001 to 2008-2010 in the States and major geographic regions of Brazil. Indicators were constructed to assess data coverage, regularity, and quality for SIM and SINASC. The municipalities (counties) were divided into three categories according to adequacy of data on deaths and live births by calculating an adequacy index based on the proportion of the population living in each category. The adequacy index for Brazil increased from 73.9 to 89.1 in the SIM and from 80.5 to 90.9 in the SINASC from the first to the second triennium, respectively. Improvements occurred in all the indicators, in all regions of the country, and in most States. Analysis of the adequacy of vital information in Brazil showed clear improvement throughout the country, particularly in States of the North and Northeast regions.