title: Distribution of mortality among 1 - 59 month-old children across Iranian provinces in 2009: the national mortality surveillance system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the distribution of mortality in 1 - 59 month-old children across Iranian provinces in a national mortality surveillance system.
  
  
  METHODS
  This national survey was conducted in 2009. A questionnaire was designed and standardized for collecting mortality data of children aged 1 - 59 months. The project team, consisting of collaborators from the whole 40 medical universities, filled in the questionnaires and returned them to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mortality in 1 - 59 month-old children was unequally distributed across provinces. The mortality was higher among children of less- educated mothers than in children of more- educated mothers. There was a reverse association between 1 - 59 months mortality and socioeconomic status across Iran as a whole and within most provinces.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that socioeconomic distribution in mortality of 1 - 59 month-old children favors the better-off in Iran as a whole and in most of its provinces. Investigating why mortality is higher in some provinces deserves special attention. Furthermore, it is advisable to conduct provincially-representative surveys to provide update estimates of different health situations and to allow their monitoring over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jondishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahwaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Esmaeil
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Motlagh
authors.forename: Roya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kelishadi
authors.forename: Sayyed Hamed
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Barakati
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Lornejad
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.forename: Parinaz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poursafa
mesh_terms: D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires