Is the Level of Utilization Still Paralleled by Infant Mortality?
Background. This research investigated the relationship of maternal place of residence with the utilization of neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and whether maternal residence was related to infant mortality in two contiguous Swiss cantons, Vaud and Valais, relying on the sante tertiary NICU. Previous works have shown that Infant mortality is close to the Swiss rate in Vaud, but elevated in Valals. Methods. Analyses were based on linked birth arid death certificates relating to the 57962 single Fivebirths to mothers resident in Vaud or Valais delivered in hospitals over the 1979 1985 period. Data on utilization were retrospectively collected from NICU admissions registers and linked to birth certificates. Results. Results of logistic regression models pointed to a large difference for all blrthweight groups, in NICU utilization between Vaud and Valais after adjustment for risk factors abstracted from the birth certificate, when tertiary NICIJ beds were considered. When the definitio
