Long-term reductions in mortality among children under age 5 in rural Haiti: effects of a comprehensive health system in an impoverished setting.

Objectives: Evidence regarding the long-term impact of health and other community development programs on under-5 mortality (the risk of death from birth until the fifth birthday) is limited. We compared mortality in a population served by health and other community development programs at the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) with national mortality rates among children younger than 5 years for Haiti between 1958 and 1999.

Methods: We collected information on births and deaths in the HAS service area between 1995 and 1999 and assembled previously published under-5 mortality rates at HAS.

Reducing under-five mortality through Hôpital Albert Schweitzer's integrated system in Haiti.

Background: The degree to which local health systems contribute to reductions in under-five mortality in severely impoverished settings has not been well documented. The current study compares the under-five mortality in the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) Primary Health Care Service Area with that for Haiti in general. HAS provides an integrated system of community-based primary health care services, hospital care and community development.