Key-indicators for maternity hospitals and newborn readmission in Sicily

Abstract

This paper proposes a composite indicator for the classification of maternity units, which takes into account for the different dimensions of service delivery, as potential predictors of health outcomes. As a measure of outcome, infant readmissions is considered, being a proxy of morbidity. The results highlight that after controlling for risk factors of the newborn, and for the presence of neonatal intensive unit, infants born in lower level hospitals show readmission rates higher than infants born in higher level hospitals.