Determinants of urban obstetrical service utilization in rural pregnant women
Park, J.S.
Pogon Sahoe Nonjip 11(2): 36-49
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 1226-0282 PMID: 12179751 Document Number: 324454
This study examines the decisions of rural pregnant women who sought obstetric care elsewhere, especially in an urban area. The principal data source was the "Patients' Survey of 1988", a nationwide data collection. Among 4091 rural pregnant women, 3090 women left their home counties for obstetric care; 1946 women went to small or medium-sized cities, 645 to large cities. Multivariate techniques were used to examine the factors related to selecting urban obstetric care. The analysis shows that younger, abnormally delivered women were more likely to seek urban obstetrical facilities. In addition, medical insurance, the number of registered cars/1000, the number of general hospitals in the county, and the distance to the nearest large city were positively related to the decision to go to any city. However, distance to the nearest small or medium-sized city had a negatively significant effect on urban obstetrical service utilization. (author's modified)