Distance Matters: Access to Maternity Services for Rural Women
Author Information
Author(s): Grzybowski Stefan, Stoll Kathrin, Kornelsen Jude
Primary Institution: University of British Columbia
Hypothesis
The study aims to document newborn and maternal outcomes related to the distance rural women must travel to access maternity services.
Conclusion
Rural parturient women who have to travel to access maternity services have increased rates of adverse perinatal outcomes.
Supporting Evidence
- Women living more than 4 hours from maternity services had an odds ratio of 3.17 for perinatal mortality.
- Newborns from catchments 2 to 4 hours away had higher NICU admission rates compared to those closer to services.
- The study included 49,402 cases of women and newborns from rural areas.
Takeaway
Women living far from maternity services have more problems when giving birth, and they often have to travel a long way to get care.
Methodology
The study used hierarchical logistic regression to analyze maternal and newborn outcomes based on distance to maternity services.
Potential Biases
The ecological design may introduce bias as individual-level data on ethnicity and socio-economic status were unavailable.
Limitations
The study used a partial ecological design due to privacy constraints on individual-level data.
Participant Demographics
Women carrying a singleton pregnancy beyond 20 weeks delivering in rural British Columbia from 2000 to 2004.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.45-6.95
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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