Article Document Academic Article Information Content Entity Continuant Continuant Journal Article Entity Entity Generically Dependent Continuant 2025-05-07T21:02:44 RDF description of Rural-urban residence and maternal hepatitis C infection, US: 2010-2018 - http://repository.healthpartners.com/individual/document-rn25554 6 Pregnancy American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2022-02-21T22:48:57.408-06:00 document-rn25554 18220 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.12.020 30780 Rural-urban residence and maternal hepatitis C infection, US: 2010-2018 public 60 <p>INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among women delivering live births in the U.S. may be higher in rural areas where county-level estimates may be unreliable. The aim of this study is to model county-level maternal hepatitis C virus infection among deliveries in the U.S. METHODS: In 2020, U.S. natality files (2010-2018) with county-level maternal residence information were used from states that had adopted the 2003 revised U.S. birth certificate, which included a field for hepatitis C virus infection present during pregnancy. Hierarchical Bayesian spatial models with spatiotemporal random effects were applied to produce stable annual county-level estimates of maternal hepatitis C virus infection for years when all states had adopted the revised birth certificate (2016-2018). Models included a 6-Level Urban-Rural County Classification Scheme along with the birth year and county-specific covariates to improve posterior predictions. RESULTS: Among approximately 32 million live births, the overall prevalence of maternal hepatitis C virus infection was 3.5 per 1,000 births (increased from 2.0 in 2010 to 5.0 in 2018). During 2016-2018, posterior predicted median county-level maternal hepatitis C virus infection rates showed that nonurban counties had 3.5-3.8 times higher rates of hepatitis C virus than large central metropolitan counties. The counties in the top 10th percentile for maternal hepatitis C virus rates in 2018 were generally located in Appalachia, in Northern New England, along the northern border in the Upper Midwest, and in New Mexico. CONCLUSIONS: Further implementation of community-level interventions that are effective in reducing maternal hepatitis C virus infection and its subsequent morbidity may help to reduce geographic and rural disparities.<p> Hepatitis Rural Health Models Healthcare Disparities