Geospatial distribution of relative cesarean section rates within the USA.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To evaluate the existence of statistically significant clusters of Cesarean section rates at the county level and assess the relationship of such clusters with previously implicated socioeconomic factors.

Results

County-level obstetrics data was extracted from March of Dimes, originally sourced from National Center for Health Statistics. County-level demographic data were extracted from the US Census Bureau. Access to obstetricians was extracted from National Provider Identifier records. Rural counties were identified using Rural Urban Commuting Area codes developed by the department of agriculture. The dataset was geospatially analyzed using Moran's I statistic, a metric of local spatial autocorrelation, to identify clusters of increased or decreased Cesarean sect

SUBMITTER: Yerrabelli RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9284873 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature