Pages 597-598 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):597-598
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Anchorage, AK, USA
Agence de Medecine Preventive, Paris, France
Source
Pages 597-598 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):597-598
Historically, Alaska had higher post-neonatal mortality rates compared to the United States as a whole, and the rates are even higher among American Indian/Alaska Native infants. Post-neonatal mortality refers to an infant death during 28-364 days of life. During 2006-2008, Alaska's post-neonatal mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births was 48% higher than the 2007 US rate of 2.3 per 1,000. Among Alaska Native infants, the Alaska rate of 8.0 per 1,000 was 70% higher than the US rate of 4.7. The objective of this study was to examine trends in post-neonatal mortality for Alaska Native and non-Alaska Native infants in Alaska since 1989 and to test whether an observed decline in rates between both groups during the early 1990s had since ended or slowed down.