HEALTH INDICATORS AND HEALTH PLANNING: A STUDY IN FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA AND CALABRIA

Key words: Health indicators, Health information system, Child health, Perinatal mortality, Infant mortality, Adolescent health, Health policy and planning

A study was carried out to evaluate feasibility and usefulness of data collection on a basic set of child health indicators in two italian regions, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) and Calabria (C). The findings highlighted the difficulties and methodological problems of establishing valid health information systems. The data collected allowed to identify critical issues in the two regions. Infant mortality is still relatively high in C (7.4 per thousand in 1996) and very low in FVG (3.7 in 1996, 2 in 1998). Cesarean sections are relatively high in FVG (19% in 1998) and very high in C (32), mortality in the 15-25 age group is high in FVG (67 per 100.000 in 1996) and relatively low in C (49). Many children < 14 years in Calabria are admitted in hospital (146 per thousand in 1997) or kept in institutions (0.37% in 1998). The differences reflect the socio-economical profile of the two regions, FVG being one of the richest and C being one of the less developed regions. Interestingly enough, the cumulative burden of premature deaths up to 25 years tend to equalize in the two regions, due to the high burden of deaths among adolescents and young adults in FVG. The findings provided some policy indications which were discussed by local administrators and health professionals.