The Interactive Mortality Atlas for Andalusia (AIMA) shows the geographical distribution and time-related evolution of mortality in all Andalusian municipalities since 1981. This GIS system gives results for the main causes of death, by age groups and gender.

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Health determinants, healthcare technology and care delivery resources change over time and, in turn, all these factors impact on the public’s well being. As a result, the assessment of health outcomes, including mortality, must be addressed from a dynamic time-related perspective. This approach will enable us to describe the trends in health indicators, to assess the impact of past healthcare policies and to understand the current health status of a population and to foster future improvements. 

Mortality atlases published to date are static in nature. Most describe the geographical distribution of mortality by grouping data from various years and applying standardised mortality rates or ratios which summarise the mortality found in all age groups. This method assumes that the years and age groups used exhibit a similar geographical mortality distribution and hence that it is feasible to group or summarise the data. However, this requirement is not always met.

When aggregated data are used, the weight of mortality figures recorded in previous years may suggest that the excess number of deaths observed in a given geographical area does not tally with current figures. In addition, the use of standardised rates or ratios hinders our understanding of whether the observed geographical distribution is the same for all age groups. Consequently, any healthcare decision-making and policies based solely on the interpretation of static maps might prove inappropriate.

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