A critical review of infant mortality rates reported by the Ministry of Health in Turkey

Objective: The infant mortality rate is an indicator that is calculated by dividing the number of infants who died before their first birthday by the number of live births in a given year. Infant mortality rates are the main determinants of the under-five mortality rate, which is used for the developmental ranking of countries by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It is also an important indicator for assessing the maternal and child health status of a country and for calculating life expectancy at birth. The aim of this review is to reassess the calculations that were made in recent years in Turkey in the light of the criteria mentioned in the text and to guide the steps that need to be taken to make future calculations. Methods:  The infant mortality rates of Turkey were collected, and their values and methods of calculating the rates were compared.  Results: According to the Annual Reports of Health Statistics by Ministry of Health, the infant mortality rate has dropped from 29,0% in 2003 to 7,4% in 2012 in Turkey; but in these reports, infant mortality rates were taken from various studies and by various methods and presented in the same charts. In the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TSI), UNICEF and the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) and in references used, this value was reported by different numbers (11,6 and 12% for 2012; 13,6% for 2013, respectively).  Conclusions:  The infant mortality rate must be calculated by a scientific approach and with definitions according to international standards in terms of comparability. This must be consistent between countries and between years studied so that the report can be compared according to consistent standards. Keywords:  Infant mortality rate, calculation of infant mortality rate, life expectancy at birth, Turkey