Birth Outcomes Related to Distance in Rural and Frontier Kansas

Area of Science:

• Maternal and Child Health
• Rural Health Disparities
• Public Health

Background:

• Women in rural areas often face significant travel burdens to access essential obstetrical services.
• Geographic distance to healthcare facilities can be a barrier to timely and adequate maternal care.
• Understanding the impact of travel distance on birth outcomes is crucial for addressing rural health inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between the distance rural women travel for obstetrical services and their birth outcomes.
• To determine if travel distance to maternity care affects infant health in Kansas's rural and frontier counties.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of women over 18 with children under three years old participated in a one-month recall survey.
• Bivariate analysis was conducted on self-reported travel distance to delivery hospital and obstetrical measures.
• Data were correlated with information from the Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in birth outcomes was observed between women traveling less than or more than 20 miles.
• Counties lacking birth facilities showed a higher incidence of very low birth weight (<1,500 grams) and full-term births compared to counties with facilities.
• Infants born to mothers in areas with obstetrical services had an earlier gestational age at birth than those without.

Conclusions:

• Initial findings suggest that while individual travel distance may not directly correlate with birth outcomes, the availability of local obstetrical services is a significant factor.
• Counterintuitive results highlight the need for further investigation with larger sample sizes and enhanced statistical power.
• Policy implications may involve improving access to and availability of maternity care in underserved rural and frontier regions.