Possible strategies for preventing the infant mortality in the Republic of Ingushetia

Abstract

Introduction. The infant mortality rates largely depend on the regional characteristics of medical care for infants over the first year of life. In various regions of the Russian Federation, the infant mortality rate and its trend are determined by the influence of social, climatic, geographical, ethnic, historical, cultural factors, as well as differences in infrastructure and quality of medical care for women of reproductive age and newborns. The purpose of the work is to determine the possibilities of reducing the infant mortality in the Republic of Ingushetia. Materials and methods. There were interviewed one hundred fifty two 23–67 years pediatricians with an average work experience of 16.5 ± 12.2 years, providing medical care to infants during the first year of life at various stages. The survey of doctors was conducted on the basis of medical institutions of the Republic of Ingushetia. The survey was conducted among doctors of the following specialties: 59.3% of pediatricians, 23.6% of obstetricians and gynecologists, 10.8% of neonatologists. 60.2% of the respondents worked in inpatient, 37.3% in outpatient clinics, and 2.5% in other medical institutions. Results. The quality of medical care and activities has been established to prevent infant mortality owing to the improvement of medical, managerial and behavioural factors on the part of parents and medical institutions. Conclusion. To effectively prevent infant mortality, investments are necessary at the stage of prevention of risk factors for sudden infant death, injuries, poisoning, and infectious diseases; at the stage of timely diagnosis — for injuries and poisoning, neoplasms, diseases of the endocrine system and blood pathology.