The project will examine current obstetric practice models in rural hospitals and assess the prospects for implementation of new policy recommendations for reducing primary cesarean rates and non-medically indicated inductions of labor in rural hospitals.

Publications

• Birth Volume and the Quality of Care in Rural Hospitals
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 2014
  Evaluates obstetric care quality in low-, medium-, and high-volume areas by using hospital discharge data.
• The Obstetric Care Workforce in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Non-CAHs
  Policy Brief
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 11/2014
  This brief details rural hospital obstetric staffing patterns in nine states by critical access hospital status. The purpose was to examine obstetric practice models in rural hospitals, providing information to rural hospitals with obstetric care units regarding workforce and informing policymakers about the context in which the hospitals operate.
• Relationship Between Hospital Policies for Labor Induction and Cesarean Delivery and Perinatal Care Quality Among Rural U.S. Hospitals
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 11/2016
  This study focused on maternity care quality by taking a look at hospitals' policies regarding induced labor and Cesarean deliveries.
• The Rural Obstetric Workforce in U.S. Hospitals: Challenges and Opportunities
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 03/2015
  Describes the healthcare and clinician types who are delivering babies in rural hospitals, such as family physicians, general surgeons, obstetricians, and midwives. Discusses the relationship between hospital birth volume and staffing models.
• Rural-Urban Differences in Obstetric Care 2002-2010 and Implications for the Future
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2014
  Measures obstetric care in both rural and urban hospitals to find if trends differ from rural and urban hospital locations.