Color query: a glance over misinformation as information

Abstract

This paper is designed to identify the situation of the variable race/color for live births and deaths of children
under one year old for Brazil, for the Southeast region and for the State of São Paulo, taking into account the
events identified by the Information System on Mortality (SIM) and the Information System on Live Births
(Sinasc), during the period pf 1998 to 2005. There was a significant decrease of misinformation regarding the
variable race/color both for live births and for deaths, in São Paulo, in the Southeast region and in the country.
Regarding the registers of race/color informed, the category white presents a proportional reduction in the state
of São Paulo, in the Southeast and in Brazil, while the category race/color mulatto has increased registers both
for deaths as well as for live births in the three areas under study, varying only in intensity. In the State of São
Paulo the category black presents increased registers in deaths and live births, whereas for the country, there is
a small decrease in both variables; the Southeast region registered a different behavior in both systems, with an
increase in registers of this variable, for live births and a small decrease in deaths. Both SIM and Sinasc have,
progressively, increased the quality of their databank and enlarging their potential for the development of studies
with ethnic/racial venues, therefore aiding policies designed to promote the equity in the Single Health System.