Abstract
Objective: To 1) define the number and characteristics of NICUs in the United States (US) and 2) identify hospital and population characteristics related to US NICUs.
Study design: Cohort study of US NICUs.
Results: There were 1424 NICUs identified in the US. Higher number of NICU beds was positively associated with higher NICU level (p < 0.0001). Higher acuity level and number of NICU beds related to being in a children's hospital (p < 0.0001;p < 0.0001), part of an academic center (p = 0.006;p = 0.001), and in a state with Certificate of Need legislation (p = 0.023;p = 0.046). Higher acuity level related to higher population density (p < 0.0001), and higher number of beds related to increasing proportions of minorities in the population up until 50% minorities. There was also significant variation in NICU level by region.
Conclusions: This study contributes new knowledge by describing an updated registry of NICUs in the US in 2021 that can be used for comparisons and benchmarking.
Publication Date
6-2023
Content Type
Article
PubMed ID:
Citation
Pineda, R., Kati Knudsen, Breault, C. C., Rogers, E. E., Mack, W. J., & Fernandez-Fernandez, A. (2023). NICUs in the US: levels of acuity, number of beds, and relationships to population factors. Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 43(6), 796–805. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01693-6
Comments
Journal of Perinatology are published OA under a CC BY license (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)