Rural Hospital Administrators' Beliefs About Safety, Financial Viability, and Community Need for Offering Obstetric Care.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Rural obstetric unit closures are associated with adverse maternal and infant health outcomes and are most common among low-birth volume facilities located in remote areas. Declining access to obstetric care is a concern in rural communities in the US.

Objective

To assess rural hospital administrators' beliefs about safety, financial viability, and community need for offering obstetric care.

Design setting and participants

Using the American Hospital Association Annual Survey to identify rural hospitals with obstetric units, we developed and conducted a national survey of a sample of rural hospitals that provided obstetric services in 2021. Obstetric unit managers or administrators at 292 rural hospitals providing obstetric services were surveyed from March

SUBMITTER: Kozhimannil KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8956977 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature