Access to risk-appropriate hospital care and disparities in neonatal outcomes in racial/ethnic groups and rural-urban populations.

2021

151409

2021 Mar 21

1558-075X

<p>Variations in infant and neonatal mortality continue to persist in the United States and in other countries based on both socio-demographic characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, and geographic location. One potential driver of these differences is variations in access to risk-appropriate delivery care. The purpose of this article is to present the&nbsp;importance of delivery hospitals on neonatal outcomes, discuss variation in access to these hospitals for high-risk infants and their mothers, and to provide insight into drivers for differences in access to high-quality perinatal care using the available literature.&nbsp;This review also illustrates the lack of information on a number of topics that are crucial to the development of evidence-based interventions to improve access to appropriate delivery hospital services and thus optimize the outcomes of high-risk mothers and their newborns.</p>

10.1016/j.semperi.2021.151409

Semin Perinatol

33931237

Racial/Ethnic Disparities Among Extremely Preterm Infants in the United States From 2002 to 2016.

2020

e206757

2020 Jun 01

2574-3805

<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Racial/ethnic disparities in quality of care among extremely preterm infants are associated with adverse outcomes.</p>

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess whether racial/ethnic disparities in major outcomes and key care practices were changing over time among extremely preterm infants.</p>

<p><strong>Design, Setting, and Participants: </strong>This observational cohort study used prospectively collected data from 25 US academic medical centers. Participants included 20 092 infants of 22 to 27 weeks' gestation with a birth weight of 401 to 1500 g born at centers participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network from 2002 to 2016. Of these infants, 9316 born from 2006 to 2014 were eligible for follow-up at 18 to 26 months' postmenstrual age (excluding 5871 infants born before 2006, 2594 infants born after 2014, and 2311 ineligible infants including 64 with birth weight &gt;1000 g and 2247 infants with gestational age &gt;26 6/7 weeks), of whom 745 (8.0%) did not have known follow-up outcomes at 18 to 26 months.</p>

<p><strong>Main Outcomes and Measures: </strong>Rates of mortality, major morbidities, and care practice use over time were evaluated using models adjusted for baseline characteristics, center, and birth year. Data analyses were conducted from 2018 to 2019.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 20 092 infants with a mean (SD) gestational age of 25.1 (1.5) weeks met the inclusion criteria and were available for the primary outcome: 8331 (41.5%) black infants, 3701 (18.4%) Hispanic infants, and 8060 (40.1%) white infants. Hospital mortality decreased over time in all groups. The rate of improvement in hospital mortality over time did not differ among black and Hispanic infants compared with white infants (black infants went from 35% to 24%, Hispanic infants went from 32% to 27%, and white infants went from 30% to 22%; P = .59 for race × year interaction). The rates of late-onset sepsis among black infants (went from 37% to 24%) and Hispanic infants (went from 45% to 23%) were initially higher than for white infants (went from 36% to 25%) but decreased more rapidly and converged during the most recent years (P = .02 for race × year interaction). Changes in rates of other major morbidities did not differ by race/ethnicity. Death before follow-up decreased over time (from 2006 to 2014: black infants, 14%; Hispanic infants, 39%, white infants, 15%), but moderate-severe neurodevelopmental impairment increased over time in all racial/ethnic groups (increase from 2006 to 2014: black infants, 70%; Hispanic infants, 123%; white infants, 130%). Rates of antenatal corticosteroid exposure (black infants went from 72% to 90%, Hispanic infants went from 73% to 83%, and white infants went from 86% to 90%; P = .01 for race × year interaction) and of cesarean delivery (black infants went from 45% to 59%, Hispanic infants went from 49% to 59%, and white infants went from 62% to 63%; P = .03 for race × year interaction) were initially lower among black and Hispanic infants compared with white infants, but these differences decreased over time.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions and Relevance: </strong>Among extremely preterm infants, improvements in adjusted rates of mortality and most major morbidities did not differ by race/ethnicity, but rates of neurodevelopmental impairment increased in all groups. There were narrowing racial/ethnic disparities in important care practices, including the use of antenatal corticosteroids and cesarean delivery.</p>

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.6757

JAMA Netw Open

32520359

Racial Segregation and Inequality in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for Very Low-Birth-Weight and Very Preterm Infants.

2019

455-461

2019 05 01

2168-6211

<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than white non-Hispanic individuals in the United States. Where minority infants receive care and the role that may play in the quality of care received is unclear.</p>

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To determine the extent of segregation and inequality of care of very low-birth-weight and very preterm infants across neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the United States.</p>

<p><strong>Design, Setting, and Participants: </strong>This cohort study of 743 NICUs in the Vermont Oxford Network included 117 982 black, Hispanic, Asian, and white infants born at 401 g to 1500 g or 22 to 29 weeks' gestation from January 2014 to December 2016. Analysis began January 2018.</p>

<p><strong>Main Outcomes and Measures: </strong>The NICU segregation index and NICU inequality index were calculated at the hospital level as the Gini coefficients associated with the Lorenz curves for black, Hispanic, and Asian infants compared with white infants, with NICUs ranked by proportion of white infants for the NICU segregation index and by composite Baby-MONITOR (Measure of Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research) score for the NICU inequality index.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>Infants (36 359 black [31%], 21 808 Hispanic [18%], 5920 Asian [5%], and 53 895 white [46%]) were segregated among the 743 NICUs by race and ethnicity (NICU segregation index: black: 0.50 [95% CI, 0.46-0.53], Hispanic: 0.58 [95% CI, 0.54-0.61], and Asian: 0.45 [95% CI, 0.40-0.50]). Compared with white infants, black infants were concentrated at NICUs with lower-quality scores, and Hispanic and Asian infants were concentrated at NICUs with higher-quality scores (NICU inequality index: black: 0.07 [95% CI, 0.02-0.13], Hispanic: -0.10 [95% CI, -0.17 to -0.04], and Asian: -0.26 [95% CI, -0.32 to -0.19]). There was marked variation among the census regions in weighted mean NICU quality scores (range: -0.69 to 0.85). Region of residence explained the observed inequality for Hispanic infants but not for black or Asian infants.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions and Relevance: </strong>Black, Hispanic, and Asian infants were segregated across NICUs, reflecting the racial segregation of minority populations in the United States. There were large differences between geographic regions in NICU quality. After accounting for these differences, compared with white infants, Asian infants received care at higher-quality NICUs and black infants, at lower-quality NICUs. Explaining these patterns will require understanding the effects of sociodemographic factors and public policies on hospital quality, access, and choice for minority women and their infants.</p>

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0241

JAMA Pediatr

30907924