Prenatal Care Utilization and Birth Outcomes After Expansion of the National Health Service Corps.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) attracts clinicians to Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) through scholarships and loan repayments. Since 2009, the NHSC workforce, including maternity care clinicians, has substantially expanded. This study evaluates the association between NHSC expansion and prenatal care and birth outcomes.

Methods

In this quasi-experimental study, we adopted a generalized difference-in-differences design to compare changes in prenatal care and birth outcomes from 2005 to 2019 using birth certificate data. Counties designated as HPSAs without any NHSC maternity care clinicians throughout the study period were control counties, and those without such clinicians before 2009 but receiving them after 2009 were treated counties. Outcom

SUBMITTER: Ma Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11499018 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature