The problem of under-registration of infant deaths in Jamaica.

PIP: Infant mortality rate (IMR) is an important indicator of a country's socioeconomic development. While IMR has declined among most developing countries over the past 3 decades, under-registration of infant deaths remains a serious problem. In the case of Jamaica, IMR declined from 102/1000 in 1945 to 32/1000 in 1970 to 13/1000 by 1984. This 1984 rate is comparable to those enjoyed in the US, Austria, UK, Spain, and Australia. Significant under-registration of infant births and deaths, however, render suspect the validity of Jamaica's IMR of 13/1000. One study found 34% of infant deaths to be unregistered, while another found 9.0% of 10,249 live births to be also be unregistered. Under-registration of this magnitude is the result of faulty hospital procedures and recording systems, a lack of standardization of related terminology, and the under-registration of live births. Inaccurate IMR adversely affects development and health planning. Efforts should therefore be made with the active support of the Ministry of Health to strengthen the registration system by increasing the numbers of registrars of births and deaths and training all personnel involved in registration.^ieng