Maternal Deaths Databases Analysis: Ecuador 2003-2013

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Ecuador faces challenges in meeting the Millennium Development Goal for maternal mortality.
• National agencies are actively working to achieve the 2015 maternal mortality target.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze national maternal death databases to identify patterns in variables associated with maternal mortality.
• To understand the relationships between demographic, socioeconomic, and healthcare factors in maternal deaths.

Main Methods:

• Utilized national maternal death databases from the National Census and Statistics Institute (INEC) for the period 2003-2013.
• Employed an ecological approach to examine geographical patterns and compare the number of deaths.
• Focused analysis exclusively on maternal deaths recorded in official statistics.

Main Results:

• A strong association was found between dying at home or outside a hospital and women's socioeconomic status.
• The absence of public health facilities correlated with higher rates of maternal deaths in non-hospital settings.
• Dying away from the usual residence may indicate women seeking or being referred to higher levels of care during complications.

Conclusions:

• Ecuadorian maternal deaths highlight significant patterns of inequity in health status, healthcare provision, and health risks.
• The complex associations suggest multiple factors, possibly related to health system development and unrecorded variables, contribute to maternal mortality.
• Further investigation is needed to fully explain the observed patterns and identify all contributing factors to maternal mortality.