J Korean Matern Child Health .  2024 Oct;28(4):156-166. 10.21896/jkmch.2024.28.4.156.

Development and Application of a Delivery Infrastructure Collapse Risk Assessment Tool: A Focus on Metropolitan Metropolitan Areas

Affiliations
  • 1Gyeonggi Public Health Policy Institute, Seongnam, Korea
  • 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kangwon National University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea
  • 3Unit for Public Health Care, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to develop a tool to systematically assess the risk of collapse in the delivery infrastructure and apply it to 42 districts in Gyeonggi Province. The ultimate goal is to provide data for preventive and improvement strategies tailored to regional needs.
Methods
Hospitals performing over 50 deliveries annually were identified. Regions were categorized as 'none,' 'one,' or 'more than two' delivery hospitals, with further subdivision by annual delivery volume. Regions were then classified into 5 categories: 'relatively stable,' 'low-risk,' 'moderate-risk,' 'high-risk,' and 'collapsed.'
Results
Of the 42 districts, 23 were classified as relatively stable, 3 as low-risk, 1 as moderate-risk, 4 as highrisk, and 11 as collapsed. Notably, areas where the delivery infrastructure has collapsed or is at high risk of collapse accounted for approximately 36% of the total.
Conclusion
Tailored strategies and urgent policy support are required for high-risk regions. While perinatal regionalization may be a future direction, stable infrastructure must be maintained until the maternal care delivery system is established.

Keyword

Delivery infrastructure, Risk assessment, Maternal care delivery system, Perinatal regionalization

Figure

  • Fig. 1. Flowchart for measuring risk of delivery infrastructure collapse.

  • Fig. 2. Status of the number of childbirth medical institutions by city, country, and district in Gyeonggi province (as of 2022).

  • Fig. 3. Results of measuring the risk of regional delivery infrastructure collapse.


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