| Principal Investigator |
Vania Smith-Oka, University of Notre Dame |
| International Collaborator(s) |
Elena Soto-Vega, Universidad Anahuac-Puebla |
| Project Type |
Planning Grant |
| Project Title |
Investigating Indications for Cesareans: Employing the Robson Classification to Address Maternal Health in Indiana and Mexico |
| Priority Area |
Infant and maternal health |
| The Intervention |
Rising cesarean section (CS) rates can have potential effects on a priority health challenge of maternal/infant health, including uterine rupture, wound infection, stillbirth, preterm birth, cognitive / physiological effects, risk of obesity, asthma, and cost of recovery. The reasons for the high rates, especially among low-risk patients, remain murky. St. Joseph County in Indiana and the city of Puebla in Mexico (a LMIC) have a shared health challenge in addressing maternal health, with high CS rates, underserved populations lacking regular access to maternal healthcare, and disproportionate health outcomes based on race or class. Though data exist on broader CS rates for these sites, little public information is available about the disaggregated patient-specific demographics or how hospitals track the underlying processes for performing CS. The goal of our study is to carry out a needs assessment in both sites by employing a validation method (the Robson Classification, RC) to understand CS rates, identify the underlying reasons for performance of CS, and address the shared challenge of maternal and fetal health issues in both study locations. The RC is a global standard for assessing, monitoring, and comparing CS rates within healthcare facilities and between them, and can have a high impact on quality of care. Our project partner is the Universidad Anáhuac-Puebla (Dr. Soto-Vega) and hospitals in St. Joseph and Puebla. To achieve our goal, the current proposal will, (1) Establish partnerships with local hospitals in Indiana and Puebla, (2) Identify the ways that CS rates are tracked in each hospital/site, and (3) Develop the RC for use in hospitals in Indiana and Puebla. |
| Key Facilitators |
This project is taking place in South Bend (Memorial / Beacon Hospital), Mishawaka (St. Joseph Hospital), and in Puebla, Mexico (private hospitals and public hospitals). |
| Target Population |
Any woman who has given birth in these hospitals in 2019. 10% sample collected from each hospital’s records. |
| Process to Implementation |
N/A |
| Key Stakeholders |
Our partner hospitals |
| Scaled or Transferred? |
N/A |
| Type of Research |
Retrospective data on de-odentified hospital records of 2019 births |
| Published Materials |
N/A |
| Year Funded |
2021 |
