Potentially Avoidable Premature Mortality (PAPM)

Premature deaths: those that occur in individuals under 75 years of age.

Avoidable premature deaths: deaths in those under 75 years of age that should not occur if all levels of care by health systems function properly (primary, secondary, tertiary prevention and health care at all levels). The group of preventable deaths considers two subgroups: (1) the so-called potentially preventable causes and (2) the potentially treatable (or treatable) causes. In Spanish, the use of the term "serviceable" is proposed, since "treatable" only refers to treatment and health care; however, "treatable" includes timely diagnosis, treatment, control, repair of damage and prolongation of life with good quality.

Preventable premature deaths: deaths that occurred in those under 75 years of age and that could have been prevented through primary prevention efforts. A death is considered preventable if, in the light of understanding its determinants of health at the time of death, all or most deaths from that cause could be prevented by public health interventions, in the broadest sense.

Treatable premature deaths: those deaths that occurred in people under 75 years of age and that should not occur if in light of medical knowledge and technology at the time of death, they could be avoided through timely and good quality medical care.