Hacia el seguimiento de los determinantes sociales de la salud: alcances y limitaciones de las estadísticas de defunción en la Argentina (2001-2009)/Towards the monitoring of the social determinants of health: the scope and limitations of death statistics in Argentina (2001-2009)

The objective of this study was to describe the accuracy of the social stratification variables that are related to the deceased, as well as the impact of personal, professional and institutional factors on the accuracy of the data generated through death statistics in Argentina from 2001-2009. A descriptive study using the databases of Argentina's Department of Health Statistics and Information was used. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the level and trend in the accuracy of a set of variables. Similarly, a logistic regression was used to determine the influence of various factors on the accuracy of the information. Two variables had excellent accuracy, two variables had fair accuracy, and four variables had unsatisfactory accuracy. The situation of the first two groups of variables had a tendency to improve, while the situation of the third group became progressively worse. The inaccuracy of most variables was highly associated with certain regions of residence, lifecycle stages, and certain types of healthcare and medical certification.