Preventable causes of death versus infant mortality as an indicator of the quality of health services.

We have made a preliminary comparison of infant mortality with the preventable causes of death proposed by Rutstein and colleagues, as indicators of the quality of health care. Two analyses were carried out. The first analysis compared the correlations of infant mortality and of the preventable deaths with four health service variables in 17 developed countries. Infant mortality was more highly correlated with the health service variables and less highly correlated with per capita income in comparison with the preventable deaths. The second analysis examined correlations of the two mortality indicators with variables reflecting the quality of general practitioner training in England. Here again, infant mortality appeared to be more sensitive, although reasons for regarding this result with caution are emphasized. Suggestions are made for further research on the concept of preventable mortality as a health outcome indicator.