Abstract
BackgroundThis research concerns Araucanía, often called the Ninth Region, the poorest region of Chile where inequalities are most extreme. Araucanía hasn't enjoyed the economic success Chile achieved when the country returned to democracy in 1990. The Ninth Region also has the largest ethnic Mapuche population, located in rural areas and attached to small agricultural properties. Written and oral histories of diseases have been the most frequently used methods to explore the links between an ancestral population's perception of health conditions and their deprived environments. With census data and hospital records, it is now possible to incorporate statistical data about the links between poverty and disease among ethnic communities and compare results with non-Mapuche population.Data sourcesHospital discharge records from Health Services North N = 24,126 patients, year 2003, and 7 hospitals), Health Services South (N = 81,780 patients and 25 hospitals); CAS-2/Family records (N = 527,539 individuals, 439 neighborhoods, 32 Comunas).MethodsGiven the over-dispersion of data and the clustered nature of observations, we used the global Moran's I and General G Gettis-Ord procedures to test spatial dependence. These tests confirmed the clusters of disease and the need to use spatial regression within a General Linear Mixed Model perspective.ResultsHealth outcomes indicate significantly higher morbidity rates for the Mapuche compared to non-Mapuche in both age groups < 5 and 15–44, respectively; for the groups 70–79 and 80 + years of age, this trend is reversed. Mortality rates, however, are higher among Mapuches than non-Mapuches for the entire Ninth Region and for all age groups. Mortality caused by respiratory infections is higher among Mapuches than non-Mapuches in all age-groups. A major finding is the link between poverty and respiratory infections.ConclusionPoverty is significantly associated with respiratory infections in the population of Chile's Ninth Region. High deprivation areas are associated with poverty, and poverty is a predictor of respiratory infections. Mapuches are at higher risk of deaths caused by respiratory infections in all age groups. Exponential and spherical spatial correlation models were tested to estimate the previous association and were compared with non-spatial Poisson, concluding that significant spatial variability was present in the data.
Highlights
This research concerns Araucanía, often called the Ninth Region, the poorest region of Chile where inequalities are most extreme
Poverty is significantly associated with respiratory infections in the population of Chile's Ninth Region
Mapuches are at higher risk of deaths caused by respiratory infections in all age groups
Summary
This research concerns Araucanía, often called the Ninth Region, the poorest region of Chile where inequalities are most extreme. The study area is located in Chile's Ninth Region, known as Araucanía, the poorest of the country's 13 regions, and one where income distribution reveals inequality that is the worst in the country, but the worst in the world, with a Gini coefficient of 0.58 [1,2]. Given the ethnic history of Araucanía and the high percentage of Mapuches in the population, this research article will test whether this ancestral population, which bears the highest poverty rates, is more vulnerable to disease compared to nonMapuches. These ethnic differences may provide important clues to understanding the differential mortality rates between Mapuche and non-Mapuche populations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
