Survival Analysis of Very Low Birth Weight Infant Mortality in Taiwan

Type of content
Discussion / Working Papers
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
University of Canterbury. Department of Economics and Finance
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2014
Authors
Chang, C-L.
Chen, W-C.
McAleer, M.
Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of very low birth weight infant (or neonatal) mortality using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database from 1997 to 2009. After infants are discharged from hospital, it is not possible to track their mortality, so the Cox proportional hazard model is used to analyze the very low birth weight infant mortality rate. In order to clarify treatment responsibility and to avoid selective referral effects, we use the number of infants treated in the preceding five years to observe the effect of a physician's and hospital's medical experience on the mortality rate of hospitalized minimal birth weight infants. The empirical results show that, given disease control variables, a higher infant weight, higher quality hospitals, increased hospital medical experience, and higher investment in pediatrics can reduce the mortality rate significantly. However, an increased physician's medical experience does not seem to influence significantly the very low birth weight infant mortality rate.

Description
Citation
Chang, C-L., Chen, W-C., McAleer, M., (2014) Survival Analysis of Very Low Birth Weight Infant Mortality in Taiwan. University of Canterbury. 37pp..
Keywords
Very low birth weight, Neonatal mortality, Physician's infant experience, Hospital infant experience, Statistical analysis, Cox proportional hazard model, Selective referral, Taiwan National Health Insurance Scheme.
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::38 - Economics::3801 - Applied economics::380108 - Health economics
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