Background: In the past two decades, the number of maternity hospitals in Finland has been reduced from 42 to 22. Notwithstanding the benefits of centralization for larger units in terms of increased safety, the closures will inevitably impair geographical accessibility of services.
Methods: This study aimed to employ a set of location-allocation methods to assess the potential impact on accessibility, should the number of maternity hospitals be reduced from 22 to 16. Accurate population grid data combined with road network and hospital facilities data is analyzed with three different location-allocation methods: straight, sequential and capacitated p-median.
Results: Depending on the method used to assess the impact of further reduction in the number of maternity hospitals, 0.6 to 2.7% of mothers would have more than a two-hour travel time to the nearest maternity hospital, while the corresponding figure is 0.5 in the current situation. The analyses highlight the areas where the number of births is low, but a maternity hospital is still important in terms of accessibility, and the areas where even one unit would be enough to take care of a considerable volume of births.
Conclusions: Even if the reduction in the number of hospitals might not drastically harm accessibility at the level of the entire population, considerable changes in accessibility can occur for clients living close to a maternity hospital facing closure. As different location-allocation analyses can result in different configurations of hospitals, decision-makers should be aware of their differences to ensure adequate accessibility for clients, especially in remote, sparsely populated areas.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7171856 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05222-5 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Determining the Correlation Between Blood Loss and Clinical Findings Among Patients with Postpartum Hemorrhage.
Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle)
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Al Zahrawi Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.
Background: There is a need for signs that will help the midwives or the health care providers attending deliveries to prevent the patient from going into hypovolemic shock, especially when immediate testing is not possible. The study aims to find the correlation between the clinical symptoms and blood loss in women with postpartum hemorrhage.
Methods: It is a descriptive observational study conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternity Hospitals.
Simulation-based training program effect on pediatric nurses' knowledge and performance regarding heel-prick during newborn blood screening test.
BMC Nurs
January 2025
Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences in Alnamas, University of Bisha, 255, Al Nakhil, Al-Namas, 67714, Saudi Arabia.
Background: One of the best ways to impart important skills to trainees is through simulation-based training, which is more reliable than the conventional clinical examination method. It is used in pediatric nursing training to allow nurses to practice and improve their clinical and conversational skills during an actual child encounter. A heel-prick is a complex psychomotor task that requires skill and knowledge from the pediatric nurse performing the procedure while applying for the National Newborn Screening Program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvestigating impact of consulting midwives on maternal rights charter on perception of respectful maternity care and postpartum blues among postpartum women: a quasi-experimental study.
BMC Med Ethics
January 2025
Department of Midwifery, Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
Introduction: Despite the existing reports on mistreatment and disrespectful maternal care, few studies have investigated interventions to mitigate this issue. The present study aims to assess the impact of consulting midwives on maternal rights charter on perception of respectful maternity care and postpartum blues among postpartum women in two hospitals in southern Iran.
Methodology: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 437 postpartum women (217 mothers before the intervention and 220 mothers after the intervention) and 44 midwives working in the maternity ward of two hospitals affiliated to Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in 2023-2024.
Knights in shining armour and (M)others in life jackets: Women's experiences of advocating for care alone when suffering recurrent early pregnancy loss during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
BMC Public Health
January 2025
Department of Women & Children's Health, King's College London, London, UK.
Background: Recurrent early pregnancy loss [rEPL] is a traumatic experience, marked by feelings such as grief and depression, and often anxiety. Despite this, the psychological consequences of rEPL are often overlooked, particularly when considering future reproductive health or approaching subsequent pregnancies. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to significant reconfiguration of maternity care and a negative impact on the perinatal experience, but the specific impact on women's experience of rEPL has yet to be explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow does the first index mode of birth in public or private hospitals predict subsequent births? A 16-year Australian population-based linked data study.
BMJ Open
January 2025
Western Sydney University, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
Objectives: In this descriptive study, we aimed to assess how the index mode of birth and subsequent birth modes vary over time for public and private hospital maternity care funding models. The second aim was to determine to what extent the index mode of birth predicts subsequent birth modes in general and whether this differs in public versus private hospital maternity care funding models. With our aim, we have an innovative approach, specifically the women's life course approach, which is hypothesis-generating and can be assessed in future studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!