Reconceptualizing Measures of Racial Disparity in Infant Mortality in U.S. Counties

• In Event: 2461 - Health and Mortality

Abstract

The magnitude of black-white differences in infant mortality rates varies considerably across U.S. counties. Prior research on racial disparities in infant mortality primarily relies on risk ratios and risk differences to measure inequality between black and white infants. In this paper, we draw on linked birth and death records from 2004-2013 to systematically evaluate risk ratios and risk differences as tools for assessing variation in black-white disparities in infant mortality across U.S. counties. We present evidence that both metrics have limitations in identifying counties that can serve as a model for, or target of, institutional interventions. For example, rather than reflecting an advantaged position for black infants, counties with the lowest risk ratios tend to be places with high white infant mortality rates. We then introduce a new approach to measuring relative and absolute inequalities in infant mortality and evaluate the utility of these new metrics compared to conventional approaches.

Author

• Benjamin Sosnaud, Trinity University