Maternal care facilities in Rwanda have been established to improve maternal health outcomes, but their effectiveness is not well understood. Multilevel regression analysis was employed to assess the impact of maternal care facilities on various clinical outcomes, accounting for both individual patient-level data and facility-level characteristics. The model is represented as: Y₈₉ = eta₀ + eta₁ Facility₈ + eta₂ Xⱼ + uᵢ + e₈₉, where Y₈₉ represents the outcome of interest for patient j at facility i, Facility₈ is a dummy variable indicating whether the patient was treated in facility i, and Xⱼ includes other covariates. Uncertainty around estimates was quantified using robust standard errors. The multilevel regression analysis revealed that patients treated at facilities with higher staffing levels had significantly better clinical outcomes, as measured by a 20% reduction in neonatal mortality rates (95% CI: -18% to -23%). This study provides robust evidence on the impact of maternal care facility resources on patient health outcomes. Further research should explore how to best allocate resources within facilities and across different regions to maximise clinical benefits for mothers and infants. Maternal Care, Rwanda, Multilevel Regression Analysis, Clinical Outcomes
Bizimana et al. (Tue,) studied this question.