Access to obstetric care in rural areas: effect on birth outcomes.

Hospital discharge data from 33 rural hospital service areas in Washington State were categorized by the extent to which patients left their local communities for obstetrical services. Women from communities with relatively few obstetrical providers in proportion to number of births were less likely to deliver in their local community hospital than women in rural communities with greater numbers of physicians practicing obstetrics in proportion to number of births. Women from these high-outflow communities had a greater proportion of complicated deliveries, higher rates of prematurity, and higher costs of neonatal care than women from communities where most patients delivered in the local hospital.     

The barrier to maternity care in rural Indonesia

Aim

The purpose of this study was to analyse the barriers to healthcare utilization for delivery in rural Indonesia.

Subjects and methods

The included subjects were women aged 15–49 years who had given birth in the last 5 years in rural Indonesia. The sample size was 9046 women. The variables analysed included the utilization of healthcare facilities, age, education, work, marital status, parity, wealth, health insurance, autonomy of family finances, autonomy of health, knowledge of pregnancy, and antenatal care (ANC). The barriers were determined by binary logistic regression.

Results

Women with higher education were 2.288 times more likely to utilize healthcare facilities for delivery than women with no education. Multiparous women were 1.582 times more likely to use healthcare facilities for delivery than grand multiparous women. The richest women were 4.732 times more likely to use healthcare facilities for delivery than the poorest women. Women who were covered by health insurance were 1.363 times more likely to utilize healthcare facilities for delivery than women who did not have insurance. Women who knew the danger signs of pregnancy were 1.497 times more likely to use healthcare facilities for delivery than women who did not know the danger signs. Women who underwent ANC?≥?4 times were 1.976 times more likely to use healthcare facilities for delivery than women who underwent ANC?<?4 times.

Conclusion

There were six factors that were identified as barriers to the utilization of healthcare facilities for delivery in rural Indonesia. These six factors were low education, high parity, poverty, not having health insurance, not knowing the danger signs of pregnancy, and ANC?<?4 times.

     

Obstetric and neonatal care related to outcome. A comparison of two maternity hospitals.

Infants of birthweight up to 2500 g born in 1966 in two district hospitals were followed-up until their school medical examination at six years. Neonatal mortality rates differed in the two cohorts despite similar maternal age, parity, and social class distribution; differences in the management of labour and in neonatal care may have been responsible. Numbers were small but the prevalence of mild or more severe handicaps among the survivors did not differ significantly between the cohorts; an improved mortality was not achieved at the expense of an increased overall morbidity, although there was a suggestion of a difference in cerebral palsy prevalence. It is suggested that the neonatal mortality rate in conjunction with the prevalence of handicaps among the survivors of low birthweight infants be used as an indicator of the efficacy of perinatal care.     

The effect of health care expenditure on patient outcomes: Evidence from English neonatal care

The relationship between health care expenditure and health outcomes has been the subject of recent academic inquiry in order to inform cost‐effectiveness thresholds for health technology assessment agencies. Previous studies in public health systems have relied upon data aggregated at the national or regional level; however, there remains debate about whether the supply side effect of changes to expenditure are identifiable using data at this level of aggregation. We use detailed patient data derived from electronic neonatal records across England along with routinely available cost data to estimate the effect of changes to patient expenditure on clinical health outcomes in a well‐defined patient population. A panel of 32 neonatal intensive care units for the period 2009–2013 was constructed. Accounting for the potential endogeneity of expenditure a £100 increase in the cost per intensive care cot day (sample average cost: £1,127) is estimated to reduce the risk of mortality of 0.38 percentage points (sample average mortality: 11.0%) in neonatal intensive care. This translates into a cost per life saved in neonatal intensive care of approximately £420,000.     

Access to care in rural America: impact of hospital closures

This article employs a quasi-experimental, pre/post comparison group design to determine whether rural hospital closures (n = 11) have had a detrimental impact on access to inpatient and outpatient care for the Medicare population. Closure areas experienced a significant decrease in medical admissions, although admission rates remained higher than in comparison areas. Physician services were not found to substitute for inpatient services following a closure. No adverse impacts on mortality were observed. Patients in closure areas were more likely to be admitted to urban teaching hospitals following the closure of their local hospital.     

Access to intensive neonatal care and neonatal survival in low birthweight infants: A population study in Norway

This study evaluates the impact of regional differences in access to intensive neonatal care on neonatal survival in geographically defined populations of 4,692 low birthweight births in Norway 1979-81. For infants weighting 1,250 to 2,499 g our results are consistent with the existence of a dose-response association between neonatal survival and the level of immediate access to intensive neonatal care. Although not statistically significant, there was a clear gradient in the risk of mortality within 24 hours. A similar pattern of survival could not be consistently demonstrated for infants weighing less than 1,250 g.     

Accessing maternity care in rural Canada: there's more to the story than distance to a doctor

Drawing upon a comparative, qualitative study of the experiences of rural women accessing maternity care in two Canadian provinces, we demonstrate that availability of services, having economic and informational resources to access the services offered, and the appropriateness of those services in terms of gender, continuity of care, confidentiality, quality of care, and cultural fit are key to an accurate understanding of health care access. We explore the implications of living rurally on each of these dimensions, thereby revealing both gaps in and solutions to rural maternity care access that narrower, proximity-based definitions miss.     

Access to neonatal intensive care for low-birthweight infants: the role of maternal characteristics.

OBJECTIVES. This study assessed the impact of mother's race, insurance status, and use of prenatal care on very low birthweight infant delivery in or transfer to hospitals with neonatal intensive care units (ICUs). METHODS. Multivariate analysis of Alabama vital statistics records between 1988 and 1990 for infants weighing 500 to 1499 g was conducted, comparing hospital of birth and maternal and infant transfer status, and controlling for infant birthweight and for maternal pregnancy history and demographic characteristics. RESULTS. With other factors adjusted for, non-White mothers with early prenatal care were more likely than White mothers to deliver their very low birthweight infants in hospitals with neonatal ICUs without transfer. Among the mothers who presented first at hospitals without such facilities, those who had late prenatal care were less likely than those with early care to be transferred to hospitals with neonatal ICUs before delivery. Medicaid coverage increased the likelihood of antenatal transfer for White women. Likelihood of infant transfer was not associated with these maternal characteristics. CONCLUSIONS. Maternal race, prenatal care use, and insurance status may influence the likelihood that very low birthweight infants will have access to neonatal intensive care. Interventions to improve perinatal regionalization should address individual and system barriers to the timely referral of high-risk mothers.     

Prenatal care and pregnancy outcomes during the recession: the Washington State experience.

To determine whether changes in prenatal care utilization and adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred among poor residents of Washington State during the recent recession, we examined all births occurring from 1980 to 1983 to women in the poorest census tracts of the three major metropolitan counties in Washington State (N = 15,735). A comparison sample consisted of all births occurring in the highest income census tracts (N = 16,295). Because the impact of the recession was hypothesized to be greatest in 1982, rates in 1982 were compared with rates in 1980. The proportion of births receiving late or no prenatal care increased in both the low-income tracts (6.2 per cent to 8.2 per cent) and the high-income tracts (1.6 per cent to 2.3 per cent). The proportion of low birthweight infants increased only in the low-income tracts (6.3 per cent to 7.4 per cent). The prevalence of maternal anemia (hematocrit less than 30) also increased only in the low-income tracts (0.7 per cent to 1.7 per cent). While we were unable to ascertain the financial status of the individuals who suffered the adverse outcomes, the findings for the low-income census tracts are consistent with the hypothesis that an increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred among the poor in Washington State during the recent recession.     

Access to health care. A conceptual framework and its relevance to health care planning

Despite some serious past efforts to clarify its multiple dimensions and meanings, access to health care has remained a rather elusive concept, hampering the work of health care policymakers and professionals as they endeavor to effect meaningful health care reform. This article provides perhaps the most detailed clarification of the access concept, especially the crucial linkages among the various access dimensions, and presents a comprehensive conceptual framework for evaluation and planning activities as they relate to people's access to health care services. The proposed conceptual model recognizes access as the outcome of a process involving the interplay between the characteristics of the health care service system and of potential users in a specified area, and moderated by health care related public policy and planning efforts. An elaborate typology of access, incorporating four pairs of access dimensions, is also derived. This atomization of the concept allows us to focus on specific aspects of the access to health care problem, and to develop precise outcome indicators of health system performance for evaluative purposes. Further, it enables the access concept and its pertinent dimensions to be put into proper perspective when assessing the health care access situation in a specific national or regional context. The relevance of the proposed access model and the typology to health care planning in general, and to spatial planning of health care service systems in particular, is also discussed.     

A study of pregnancy outcomes in a maternity center and a tertiary care hospital.

This study compares 796 pregnancy outcomes at a maternity center (BMC) with 804 hospital (TJUH) pregnancy outcomes. The samples of pregnant women from the participating institutions were matched on sociodemographic characteristics; analysis of outcomes was performed controlling for medical-obstetric risk. Differences between the institutions were found mainly among women with low intrapartum risk. For these women, neonatal morbidity and length of infant nursery stay were lower at BMC than at TJUH. The percentage of infants with one-minute Apgar scores less than 7 or requiring resuscitation at birth was greater at BMC, but the percentage of infants with five-minute Apgar scores less than 7 as well as neonatal mortality rates did not differ between the two institutions. The number of women with intrapartum or postpartum fever was too small to permit comparison. The study results suggest that care delivered at BMC is safe with regard to the evaluative criteria used.     

Abortion services in rural Washington State, 1983-1984 to 1993-1994: availability and outcomes

CONTEXT: Fewer rural health providers offer abortion services than a decade ago. It is unknown how the reduction in service availability has affected women's pregnancy outcomes, the extent to which they must travel to obtain an abortion or whether abortions are delayed as a result. METHODS: Population, birth and fetal death data, as well as pregnancy termination reports, obtained from Washington State were used to calculate abortion rates and ratios and birthrates for Washington residents in 1983-1984 and in 1993-1994. Residence of abortion patients was classified by county only, and location of providers was recorded as large urban county, small urban county, large rural county or small rural county. Distances that women traveled to obtain an abortion were calculated. Chi-square tests were used to compare urban and rural rates and ratios within time periods, and to compare changes that occurred between time periods. RESULTS: Birthrates and abortion rates decreased for both rural and urban Washington women between 1983-1984 and 1993-1994, but the magnitude of the decrease was greater for rural women. The rural abortion rate fell 27%, from 14.9 abortions per 1,000 women to 10.9 per 1,000, while the urban rate dropped 17%, from 21.8 to 18.2 per 1,000. The decline in the abortion rate was larger for adolescents than it was for other age-groups. In rural areas, the abortion rate decreased from 16.5 per 1,000 adolescents aged 10-19 in 1983-1984 to 10.8 per 1,000 in 1993-1994, while it declined from 23.3 per 1,000 to 16.9 per 1,000 in urban areas. From the earlier to the later time period, rural women traveled on average 12 miles farther each way to obtain an abortion, and the proportion who obtained the procedure in a rural county decreased from 25% to 3%. In the earlier time period, 62% of rural women traveled 50 miles or more to obtain an abortion, compared with 73% in 1993-1994. From 1983-1984 to 1993-1994, the proportion of rural women who traveled out of state for an abortion increased from 8% to 14%. The proportion of rural women terminating their pregnancy after the first trimester increased from 8% in 1983-1984 to 15% in 1993-1994. CONCLUSION: Rural Washington women are traveling farther and more often to urban and out-of-state locations for abortion services, and are obtaining their abortions at a later gestational age, which is associated with a decade-long decline in the number of abortion providers.     

2008年全国三级妇幼保健机构资源配置状况分析

目的:分析全国省、地、县三级妇幼保健机构卫生资源的配置状况和机构间差异,为新医改进程中妇幼保健机构的建设和发展提供依据。方法:通过全国妇幼卫生机构管理信息网络报告系统,收集三级妇幼保健机构卫生人力配置状况的实时直报信息。结果:各级妇幼保健机构卫技人员占在职职工总数的比例均在80%左右;省地县三级机构医护比分别为0.9、1.3和2.1;三级机构卫技人员中本科以上学历比例分别为48.3%、38.1%和17.3%;副高及以上职称比例分别为16.7%、13.4%和4.9%。省级和地市级妇幼保健机构中均有90%以上处于负债运营状况。结论:妇幼保健机构的保健人员缺乏,需完善人员编制;基层妇幼保健机构人员素质偏低,人才队伍建设亟待加强;妇幼保健机构间发展不均衡,基层机构的基础建设仍需加强;政府对妇幼卫生保健机构的投入不足,需强调政府购买公共卫生服务的职责。     

Medicaid prenatal care: a comparison of use and outcomes in fee-for-service and managed care.

BACKGROUND. To control rising costs, state Medicaid agencies are enrolling recipients in managed care health plans (MCPs). We performed this study to assess this policy's impact on accessibility and outcomes of Medicaid-funded prenatal care. METHODS. We performed a retrospective, controlled study with three cohorts: a study group of 1106 Medicaid recipients enrolled in three MCPs, a matched comparison group of 4830 recipients receiving care in the fee-for-service (FFS) system, and a second matched comparison group of 4434 non-Medicaid enrollees of the same MCPs. Data on prenatal care use and birth outcomes were obtained through linkage of claims and discharge files with birth certificate files. RESULTS. Medicaid recipients enrolled in MCPs used prenatal care similarly to those in the FFS system and showed equal or modestly improved birth-weight distributions. However, Medicaid MCP enrollees showed poorer use of prenatal care and birth outcomes compared with non-Medicaid enrollees of the same plans. CONCLUSIONS. Enrollment in MCPs has a neutral or small beneficial effect on the prenatal care received by the Medicaid population. However, providing financial access and modifying the system of care for this population did not result in parity with the general population.     

The effect of prenatal maternity leave on short and long-term child outcomes

Maternity leave policies are designed to safeguard the health of pregnant workers and their unborn children. We evaluate a maternity leave extension in Austria which increased mandatory prenatal leave from 6 to 8 weeks. We exploit that the assignment to the extended leave was determined by a cutoff date. We find no evidence for significant effects of this extension on children's health at birth or long-term health and labor market outcomes. Subsequent maternal health and fertility are also unaffected. We conclude that employment during the 33rd and 34th week of gestation is not harmful for expecting mothers (without major problems in pregnancy) and their unborn children.     

Partnerships in specialty care: exploring rural haemophilia provider resource needs

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether rural providers have adequate preparation for safe and effective haemophilia care. DESIGN: This qualitative study proceeded in two phases: focus group (phase I) and telephone (phase II) interviews. SETTING: Five Canadian rural hospitals served by one urban haemophilia treatment centre and providing service to at least one haemophilia family. PARTICIPANTS: Phase I: focus groups of rural health professionals (site 1: n = 5; site 2: n = 6), including nursing, medicine and lab technology. Phase II: telephone interviews with nine participants from nursing, medicine, lab technology, social work and physiotherapy across three sites. Main outcome measures: Qualitative content analysis yielded categorical themes for specialty care resource requirements in a rural context. RESULTS: Resource needs reflected five main categories: communication network, subjective knowledge, team roles, objective knowledge and partnerships (C-STOP). CONCLUSIONS: The five C-STOP categories require resources and alignment of urban specialist, rural provider and family expertise. Specialty clinic efforts promoting self-care are incomplete without matched resources for rural providers.