Study: Investment in Non-health Care Services Linked to Lower Infant Mortality Rates

A new study has found that investment in non-health care services was associated with lower infant mortality rates among certain high-risk populations. The study, “State and Local Government Expenditures and Infant Mortality in the United States,” which will be published in the November 2020 issue of Pediatrics (published online Oct. 19), explored how state governmental investment into non-health care spending might impact infant mortality rates over time, with specific attention given to disparities by race, ethnicity, and maternal age. The study looked at U.S. state-level infant mortality and state and local government spending for 2000–2016, the most recent data available. The spending included education, social services, and environment and housing. States and local governments spend, on average, $9 per person. A $0.30 per-person increase in environmental spending was associated with a decrease of 0.03 deaths per 1,000 live births and a $0.73 per-person increase in social services spending was associated with a decrease of 0.02 deaths per 1,000 live births. Continued investments in social and environmental services hold promise for further reducing infant mortality disparities, the authors concluded.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.