OCR Text |
Show Figures 5, 6, and 7 show the five year trend in DRG mix for the study areas. Residents of Salt Lake County and the balance of the state experienced a declining proportion of births in DRG's 386 and 387, which cover premature babies with major problems (Figure 5). In Weber County, after a sharp decline from 1985 to 1986 (12% to 7.5% of births with problem prematurity), the percentage in these DRG's rose to 9.2% in 1989. In DRG 388, Full Term Neonate with Major Problems, the trend is less clear. Again, the percentage in this DRG declined steadily for Salt Lake County and the balance of the state, but Weber County Medicaid recipients had a lower proportion of births in this DRG throughout most of the period (Figure 6). The percentage of normal newborns increased steadily in all three areas throughout the period (Figure 7). Clearly, the comparative analysis of DRG's suggests that immaturity and prematurity were the major problems for the Weber county Medicaid population during the late 1980s. Geographic variation in risk factors was examined in an effort to determine possible intervention strategies to control high Weber County infant mortality. The linked birth/Medicaid data set pre-dates the current expanded Utah Certificate of Live Births, so the risk factors which could be examined were quite small. Figure 5 12 Percent of Newborns in Problem Prematurity DRG's (386-387): Utah Medicaid Births, 1985-89 2 10 - 8 - 6- 2 - Salt Lake County Weber County Balance of State i 85 86 87 Year 88 89 Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1993 129 |