What is the implicit question regarding infant mortality and geographic region?

• A. Is there an association between infant mortality and geographic region of residence?
• B. What is the overall rate of infant mortality?
• C. Do birth rates differ by region?
• D. Is infant mortality constant over time?

Answer: (A)

The core idea is comparing outcomes across different places. Here, geographic region of residence is the exposure and infant mortality is the outcome, so the implicit question asks whether the outcome varies by region. In other words, is there an association between region and infant mortality? If regions show different infant mortality rates, that indicates a relationship between where someone lives and the likelihood of infant death. The other choices don’t focus on this geographic comparison: one asks for an overall rate regardless of region, another looks at birth rates (fertility) by region, and the last asks about time trends rather than geography.