Impact of Nonclinical Hospital and Patient Characteristics on Variations and Trends in Cesarean Section Rates in California, 1984-88. Executive Summary and Final Report

摘要

The primary purpose of this study was to create a five-year database of California hospital obstetrical discharges linked with birth record and hospital facility data in order to analyze the association between nonclinical hospital and patient characteristics and hospital-specific cesarean section rates, adjusted for patient case-mix. The general hypothesis of the study was that cesarean section rates vary across hospital ownership categories and as a function of nonclinical hospital and patient characteristics, controlling for other factors. The results of the analysis indicated that numerous nonclinical variables, including hospital ownership, patient Medi-Cal status, and caseload of births per physician, were found to be significantly associated with hospital-specific primary cesarean section rates.