Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2006
Capstone Advisor
Mary Lovely
Honors Reader
Thomas Kniesner
Capstone Major
Economics
Capstone College
Management
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
Economic History | Economics | Economic Theory | Health Economics
Abstract
Objective: To compare mortality rates at children’s hospitals and non-children’s hospitals.
Data Source: I used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2003. Thirty-six states participated in the HCUP in 2003, which included 3,438 hospitals, and 2,984,129 pediatric discharges.
Study Design: I hypothesized that mortality rates at children’s hospitals would be lower than mortality rates at non-children’s hospital because children’s hospitals have more specialized inputs, from the clinical training of sub-specialists and nurses to advanced machines and diagnostic tools, and may use these inputs more productively. To test this hypothesis, I analyzed mortality for seven diagnoses using a logistic regression model. To control for selection bias, I selected diagnoses that were likely to occur at both children’s hospitals and non-children’s hospitals and controlled for risk of mortality and severity of illness.
I found that mortality rates at children’s hospitals were lower, but these lower rates were not statistically significant. Risk of mortality and severity of illness were highly significant in the model. These findings suggest that hospital type does not make a difference in determining medical outcome, but do not diminish the value of children’s hospitals because they are important assets in their communities.
Recommended Citation
LaBonte, Christiane, "Do Children's Hospitals Have Lower Mortality Rates? Evidence from the 2003 Kids' Inpatient Database" (2006). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 637.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/637
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