Variations in estimates of Guatemalan infant mortality, vaccination coverage, and ORS use reported by different resources

Abstract

All available estimates of rates of infant mortality, vaccination coverage (for BCG, DPT 3, polio 3, measles, and tetanus toxoid), and ORS use in Guatemala in the 1980s were identified and investigated. A large number of sources and estimates were found. Large discrepancies were also found between the estimates for a given indicator, even when the estimates were reported for the same year by the same source. For instance, reports for 1985 yielded 10 different infant mortality estimates ranging from 56.0 to 79.8 deaths per 1 000 live births; vaccination coverage estimates ranging from 30 percent to 60.5 percent for BCG, 3.5 percent to 34.2 percent for DPT 3,3.5 percent for polio 3,11 percent to 58.2 percent for measles, and 1 percent to 8.2 percent for tetanus toxoid; and estimated use rates of oral rehydration solution ranging from 3.5 percent to 7.2 percent. In this same vein, three Guatemalan Ministry of Health estimates of infant deaths per 1 000 live births in 1984 ranged from 52.4 to 79.8; four UNICEF estimates for 1985 ranged from 65 to 79.8; and three USAID estimates for 1987 ranged from 58 to 72. The many reasons found for this diversity point to significant problems influencing the reliability of current data

This article will also be published in Spanish in the BOSP. Vol. 118, 1995