Title
Geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in cesarean birth rates in Peru: A comparison between 2009 and 2018
Date Issued
2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Abstract
Background: There is a global concern about the high rates of cesarean birth (CB). This study aimed to investigate the geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in CB rates in the Peruvian population. Methods: We conducted a population-based study using the Peruvian Demographic and Family Health Surveys (ENDES, the Spanish acronym for Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar) between 2009 and 2018. ENDES reported data from births registered in the five years preceding survey execution. For the years 2009 (n = 10 289) and 2018 (n = 23 077), we calculated the weighted rates of CB among variables such as natural geographic domain (Coast, Andean, or Amazon), area of residence (rural or urban), wealth index quintile (quintile 1 is poorest, and quintile 5 is richest), and educational level. To assess inequalities, we calculated the concentration index (CIs), the slope index of inequality (SII), and the relative index of inequality (RII). Results: The CB rates by year were 21.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.0-22.9) in 2009 and 34.5% (95% CI: 33.4-35.5) in 2018. Women living in urban and coastal regions and with a higher education level had the highest CB rates. All the CIs were positive, reflecting a prowealthy inequality in CB rates, and both SII and RII were positive, indicating a gap between the use of cesarean in women in the higher wealth quintile compared with those in the lower quintile. Conclusions: Cesarean birth rates have increased by 60% during the last decade in Peru. The richest wealth quintiles had the highest CB rates during the study years, which were well above global recommendations.
Start page
52
End page
60
Volume
49
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Economía
Obstetricia, Ginecología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85123969564
PubMed ID
Source
Birth
ISSN of the container
07307659
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus