Yes. Mortality rate is usually calculated for a given health district (or region). For example, to determine the under-5 mortality rate for a health district, all under-5 deaths in each part of that service (each clinic and hospital) must be added together. The rate is then expressed per 1000 live births in that district. Sometimes the mortality rate is calculated for a whole province or country by combining the results of many districts.

This is much better than simply calculating the mortality rate of a single hospital. Due to differing patterns of referral, hospital deaths do not necessarily reflect all deaths in the districts which drain to that hospital. For example, deaths at home or at clinics are not included. Therefore, mortality rates are best expressed for a health district in 1 year.