Health assessment of the population of São Paulo city, 2005

Objective: To present the broad indicator Z in order to evaluate the 31 sub-town halls in the city of São Paulo according to their health conditions. Methods: Birth rate, mortality rate and population mortality rate by transmissible diseases were calculated for 2005, standardizing the population mortality rate by transmissible diseases. For each age group, the median percentage of its participation was calculated for the population composition. Rresults: This study has shown that the broad indicator Z was capable of ordaining the 31 sub-town halls in the city of São Paulo, in decreasing order, according to their health conditions for the year 2005. Cconclusions: The order proposed according to Z values showed to be coherent with the level of health in sub-town halls. Therefore, it is a useful element to characterize the behavior of different populations or to compare the same population in different periods of time