Spatial distribution of low birthweight infants in Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil

Distribución espacial de los recién nacidos con bajo peso en Taubaté, São Paulo

OBJECTIVE:

To identify the spatial pattern of low birth weight infants in the city of Taubaté, São Paulo, Southeast Brazil.

METHODS:

Ecological and exploratory study, developed with the data acquired from the Health Department of Taubaté, regarding the period from January 1^st 2006 and December 31^st 2010. Birth certificates were used to obtain the data from infants weighing less than 2500g. A digital basis of census tracts was applied and the Global Moran index (I_M) was estimated. Thematic maps were built for the distribution of low birth weight, health centers and tracts, according to the priority care (Moran map). The adopted statistical significance was α=5% and TerraView software conducted the spatial analysis.

RESULTS:

There were 18,915 live births during the study period, with 1,817 low birth weight infants (9.6%). The low birth weight infants' prevalence during the period ranged from 9.3 to 9.8%. A total of 1,185 infants with known addresses, compatible with the digital base (65.2% of low birth weight infants), were included. The I_M for low birth weight was 0.12, with p<0.01; regarding the health centers distribution, I_M was -0.07, with p=0.01. The Moran map identified 11 census tracts with high priority for intervention by health managers, located in the outskirts of the city.

CONCLUSIONS:

The spatial analysis identified the low birth weight distribution by census tracts and the sectors with a high priority for intervention.

infant, low birth weight; primary health care; geographic information systems