Differences in risk of mortality under 1 year of age between rural and urban areas: an ecological study

While there were significant differences in crude risk between rural and urban enumeration districts for some causes and age groups before 1 year, after adjusting for social deprivation, these differences were not significant. The lack of significant interaction between rurality and deprivation indicated that the relationship between social deprivation and death before 1 year of age was not significantly different in rural areas compared with urban areas. Collaborative public health programmes to tackle deprivation are necessary in both rural and urban areas.