Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Preterm births have been rising in the United States. Texas rural hospital closures are rising, which could contribute to fewer OB-GYNs and poorer birth outcomes. The purpose of the research was to determine correlations between OB-GYNs and preterm births in rural and urban Texas counties using secondary data from the Area Health Resources Files. The design was cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational. There was a moderate, statistically significant correlation between preterm births and OB-GYNs in both rural (n=115, rs= 0.53, p=<0.0001) and urban (n=72, rs= 0.73, p=<0.0001) counties. On average, there was 1 OB-GYN per 10,000 female population aged 15-44 in rural counties compared to 3 OB-GYNs per 10,000 in urban counties. Given that more urban OB-GYNs are available, further research is needed to understand factors influencing where rural women deliver babies (rural or urban hospitals), and how factors contribute to preterm birth differences among women residing in rural and urban areas
Publication Date
5-1-2023
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Samuels, Toni-Ann, "The Relationship Between County-Level Rates of Obstetric Care Providers and Rates of Preterm Births in Rural and Urban Counties." (2023). 2023 Spring Honors Capstone Projects. 25.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_spring2023/25