• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.499-512
• /
• 2000

The number of deliveries by cesarean section has increased internationally. However, The cesarean section rate is different by country to country. It is because each country has different social and cultural background and. practices its unique delivery policies. Hence, it is very important to understand the uniqueness that one country faces related with the cesarean section. In Korea, there have been many researches on the clinical. maternal. hospital and community factors and so on. However, few studies have attempted to reveal the physician factors in Korea because it is difficult to approach hospital records. So, in this study, the physician factors that influence the increase of cesarean section rate in Korea was investigated, and preliminary research agenda for policy establishment to keep the cesarean section rate from excessive increase was provided. In this study, all 2744 cesarean section deliveries performed by 36 physicians at the hospital was considered. and detailed delivery records of 12 months selected randomly from January 1996 to August 1998 was reviewed retrospectively. Chi-square analysis is used to examine the homogeneity of distribution of maternal, fetal, and clinical factors. In addition, multiple regression analysis is used to examine the effect of physician characteristics on the cesarean section rate. Physician characteristics as independent variable and the cesarean section rate as dependent variable was put in this analysis. Follows are the results of this study. 1) Total cesarean section rate is 34.8%. primary cesarean section rate is 12.5 % and repeated cesarean section rate is 22.3 %. Among the indications for the primary cesarean section, 15.6 % is for breech presentation. 40.2 % is for dystocia. 7.6 % is for fetal distress. and 36.6 % is for others. 2) There is positive correlation between physician's age and the cesarean section rate (p<0.001). And statistically significant correlation is found between the physician's educational attainment and the cesarean section rate (p<0.001). A physician with Ph.D degree has lower cesarean section rate than a physician with B.A only and M.A. degree (p<0.001). However. physician's gender, location of graduated university. position at the hospital, and the religious belief were not shown statistically significant relations with the cesarean section rate. 3) Among all cesarean sections in this study, only 15.4 % is performed during weekend. While 18.2 % is performed on monday only. This suggests that physicians may not prefer weekend operation of cesarean section. In addition, 86.1 % among all cesarean section operations is performed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. So the cesarean section rate could be related with a day of the week and a time of the day. From this results. there is a possibility that the physicians' personal comfort may influence the cesarean section rate.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.2-8
• /
• 2011

Objectives: Public release of and feedback (here after public release) on institutional (clinics and hospitals) cesarean section rates has had the effect of reducing cesarean section rates. However, compared to the isolated intervention, there was scant evidence of the effect of repeated public releases (RPR) on cesarean section rates. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of RPR for reducing cesarean section rates. Methods: From January 2003 to July 2007, the nationwide monthly institutional cesarean section rates data (1 951 303 deliveries at 1194 institutions) were analyzed. We used autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time-series intervention models to assess the effect of the RPR on cesarean section rates and ordinal logistic regression model to determine the characteristics of the change in cesarean section rates. Results: Among four RPR, we found that only the first one (August 29, 2005) decreased the cesarean section rate (by 0.81 percent) and continued to have an impact period through the last observation in May 2007. Baseline cesarean section rates (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 3.1 to 7.1) and annual number of deliveries (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.7) of institutions in the upper third of each category at before first intervention had a significant contribution to the decrease of cesarean section rates. Conclusions: We could not found the evidence that RPR has had the significant effect of reducing cesarean section rates. Institutions with upper baseline cesarean section rates and annual number of deliveries were more responsive to RPR.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.109-117
• /
• 2011

Purpose: This study examined the impact factors of cesarean section based on the ecological approach in Korea. Methods: Population-based data (Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs) were used from 2,849 delivery cases during 2003~2009. Data were analyzed using geographic statistics with STATA 10.0 and hierarchical logistic regression with SPSS/WIN 12.0. Results: The range of cesarean section rate was 28.8~44.7% with geographic distribution. The proportion of mother's problem was increasing in choice of cesarean section. According to the ecological model, age of mother (OR=1.08), time of birth (OR=0.79), delivery in hospital (OR=1.83), delivery in clinic (OR=1.46), and education of mother (OR=2.61) had significant impact on cesarean section. Conclusion: This study contributes to provide the impact factors of the high cesarean rate in Korea ecologically. Policy maker and health care provider can consider these results to reduce cesarean section rate.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.25 no.3 s.39
• /
• pp.312-329
• /
• 1992

The purpose of this study is to estimate cesarean section rate in Korea and analyze the socioeconomic variables and health resources which affect regional variation in the rate. Samples were drawn from the record of vaginal and cesarean section deliveries based upon insurance claim bills which have been submitted to the National Federation of Medical Insurance for the first three months, January through March, 1991. The results are obtained as follows : It was found that. cesarean section rate was increasing rapidly up to 23.1% in 1991. Cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people was 4.8 and the number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured eligible($15{\sim}49$ years old) female was 7.6. The fee for normal delivery was 109,489 won and that for cesarean section was 390,024 won. The average days of hospitalization in normal delivery was 2.3 days, and those in cesarean section was 7.6 days. On the average cesarean section has a longer of stay as much as by 4.3 days and cost 3.6 times more than normal deliveries. Cesarean section rates vary among medical facilities 19.8% at clinics 37.6% in small-scale hospitals, and 29.1% in general hospitals. The regional variation of cesarean section rates was also fairly prominent. The South Cheju Gun has the highest rate of cesarean section, 56.2%. Meanwhile no cesarean section cases has been reported in Sunchang Gun during the period of this study. The variation is noted among provinces. The rate for Cheju province has been 3.4 times higher than that for Chunnam. The number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people vary greatly among regions, too. This study has found that there exists significant regional variations among various geographic units in terms of average length of stay, average cost, number of obsretricians and number of beds. Multiple regression analysis was done to identify factors explaining the regional variance of various cesarean section rates : In the urban areas, no significant explaining variables were noted except the number of beds for the dependent variable of cesarean section cases per 10 thousand insured eligible females. The smaller the number of bed, the more cases of cesarean section was noted for an urban area. The is mostly because the rate of cesarean section is higher in medium-size hospitals than in large general hospitals. In the rural areas, the factor of education has been found significant for all three deplendent variables. The higher the educational level, the rate of cesarean section is most likely to rise. An income variable measured by the amount of monthly insurance contribution has been identified a powerful predictor in explaining the valiance of cesarean section rates. The same has been noted for the number of obstetricians. Similar findings are observed for the country as a whole. The income level has veen found as the most powerful explaining factor in the regional variance of cesarean section rates. In general the rate is higher in the urban areas, and lower in the area with more small hospitals. As this is the initial attempt to identify the factors relevant to the regional difference in the rates of cesarean section, more elaborated study is urgently required.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.27-41
• /
• 1991

The purpose of this study is to estimate cesarean section rate in Korea and analyze characteristics of health care institution which affect regional variation in the rate. We have searched vaginal and cesarean section deliveries among Diagnosis Related Group dat based upon insurance claim bills which have been submitted to Korean Insurance Corporation for two years since March, 1985. The results are as follows: 1. Out of all delivery cases of 87,500, cesarean section rate was 16.3% (14,299 cases). 2. Cesarean section rate varied according to size and ownership of health care institutions. In above 6- bed sized hospitals, the rate was at about 20% higher than small sized institutions, but rather in hospitals that have more than 500 beds, it was somewhat low. Classified by the hospital ownership, the rate was low at 18.4% in hospitals of religious organization and highest at private or corporate hospitals. 3. This study shows large regional variation in cesarean section rate; there are two times differences between region with the highest and lowest rate. Strongly related factors in that variation was the ownership of health care institution and urbanization variables. Low level of cesarean section rate in a region is explained by high proportion of delivery cases at institutions of religious organization and at insitutions in county level site. This result shows that apart from medical conditions of patients, indications of cesarean section differs from health care providers, and especially ownership of institution strongly affect them. Cesarean section rate in Korea is supposed to be at high level and development of utilization review programs to keep appropriate cesarean section rate is needed.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.200-208
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was aimed to examine the gap between predicted cesarean section rate and real cesarean section rate and it's determining factors of 44 tertiary hospitals. Method: This study is a cross-sectional analysis using the data of 25,623 deliveries in 2009 drawn from homepage of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Data were analyzed with t-test, F-test, Scheff$\acute{e}$ test, and logistic regression. Result: There were statistically significant differences in the gap of cesarean section rate (more gap indicates higher quality of delivery) by grade of nurse staffing and delivery cases. Hospitals with nurse staffing grade 1 to 2 had more possibility to be classified into higher grade in quality of delivery (OR 5.67, 95% CI 1.07-30.08). Also hospitals with over 500 delivery cases had more possibility be classified into higher grade in quality of delivery (OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.14-21.23, respectively). Conclusion: The finding suggests that grade of nurse staffing may influence the real cesarean section rate because nurses do a vital role to prevent unnecessary cesarean section. Further study is required to provide evidence that nurse staffing influence on patient outcome and cost-effectiveness in order to obtain adequate number of nursing staffs.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.324-332
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explain differences of cesarean section rates according to San- Yin-Jiao(SP6) acupressure for women in labor. Method: A noneqivalent control group pre test - post test design was used to explain differences of cesarean section rates according to SP6 acupressure. The participants were 209 women who were assigned to one of three groups SP6 acupressure(n=86), SP6 touch(n=47), and control group(n=76). For 30 minutes, the SP6 acupressure group received SP6 acupressure, and the SP6 touch group received SP6 touch for the duration of each uterine contraction. The Control group was encouraged to deep breath and relax for the duration of each uterine contraction for 30 minutes. Result: The rates of cesarean section were 12.8%, 29.8%, and 22.4% for the SP6 acupressure group, SP6 touch group, and control group respectively. There was a significant difference among groups (p=0.049). Cesarean section rateswere significantly different between the SP6 acupressure and non-SP6 acupressure group(p=0.035). Conclusion: This finding shows that 30 minutes of SP6 acupressure was effective in decreasing the cesarean section rate. Therefore, SP6 acupressure during labor could be applied as an effective nursing intervention.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.180-187
• /
• 2021

Background: This study analyzed the effect of applying the diagnosis-related group (DRG)-based payment system, which was implemented in July 2012 for hospitals and clinics nationwide, on the cesarean section rate. Methods: The subjects of the study were divided into new groups that participated in the payment system after July 2012 and maintenance groups that participated in the payment system before July 2012. As an analysis method, a difference-in-difference analysis, which is a quasi-experimental design, was used. The risk-adjusted cesarean section rate was used as a dependent variable. Results: Seven risk factors (malpresentation of fetus, eclampsia, multiple pregnancies, problems in the placenta, previous Cesarean section, cephalopelvic disproportion, problems in amniotic fluid) were included in the final risk-adjustment model, and found to have a statistically significant relationship with the cesarean section rate. Results showed that the risk-adjusted cesarean section rate increased significantly in new groups after the application of the DRG-based payment system. Conclusion: Study results provided policy implications for the reorganization of the DRG-based system should that reflects the demands of obstetricians, such as organizing a consultative body with obstetricians and establishing a reasonable fee.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.389-401
• /
• 2002

This study aims to find factors that affect variations in cesarean section frequency rates among OBGY clinics in Metropolitan areas. The factors include patient, medical supplier characteristics and economic factors. This study is a cross-sectional analysis using health insurance delivery claims from July to December 2000 and files of the NHIC(national health insurance corporation). Multiple regression was used to analyze the dependent variable of cesarean section frequency rate at each clinic. The results are as follows : Cesarean section frequency rate is increasing in proportion to the number of the following patients : repeated caesarean section, disproportion, obstructed labour, fetal distress, emergency caesarean section and self-employed patients. There are geographic variations as well. Cesarean section frequency rates are higher in Inchon and Gyonggi province than in Seoul. The higher number of total delivery the clinic has, the lower rate of cesarean section it has. Clinics with high frequency rates in 1999 showed higher rates the next year. Further research is required to develop evidence based delivery modes and change strategies for increasing normal delivery and activating midwife clinics.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.49-52
• /
• 2012

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of postoperative radiotherapy for the treatment of keloid scars administered immediately after Cesarean section. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 postpartum patients with confirmed keloids resulting from previous Cesarean sections received either 12 or 15 Gy radiotherapy. The radiotherapy was divided into three 6 MeV electron beam fractions administered during the postpartum period immediately following the final Cesarean section. To evaluate ovarian safety, designated doses of radiation were estimated at the calculated depth of the ovaries using a solid plate phantom and an ionization chamber with the same lead cutout as was used for the treatment of Cesarean section operative scars and a tissue equivalent bolus. Results: In total, the control rate was 77% (20 patients), while six (23%) developed focally elevated keloids (ranging from 0.5 to 2 cm in length) in the middle of the primary abdominal scar. Five patients experienced mild hyperpigmentation. Nonetheless, most patients (96%) were satisfied with the treatment results. The estimated percentage of the applied radiation doses that reached the calculated depth of the ovaries ranged from 0.0033% to 0.0062%. Conclusion: When administered during the immediate postpartum period, postoperative electron beam radiotherapy for repeated Cesarean section scars is generally safe and produces good cosmetic results with minimal toxicity.