The Impact of Health Insurance on Low Birth-Weight Infants and Mothers at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 11; p. e31000
• Main Authors: Memon, Sajjan Iqbal, Afzal, Kiran, Memon, Aamir Gul, Shaikh, Noor Us Saba, Manghrio, Umair Ismail
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 02-11-2022; Cureus
• Subjects: Babies; Birth weight; Epidemiology/Public Health; Health care policy; Health insurance; Hospitals; Independent variables; Insurance coverage; Insurance policies; Medical records; Mortality; Multiple births; Newborn babies; Nutrition; Pregnancy; Prenatal care; Public Health; Ratios; Regression analysis; Risk factors; Uninsured people; Saudi Arabia; saudi arabia; infants; low birth weight; females; health insurance
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.31000

To determine the impact of having private health insurance during the period of maternity on low birth-weight (LBW) infants.
This retrospective case-control study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, between January 2020 and January 2021. Using non-probability sampling, secondary medical data were obtained at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology from two groups: insured and non-insured mothers who had 150 LBW infants (LBWI) (<2.5 kg) as well as normal newborns. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 24 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). A univariate analysis was performed for each variable followed by a logistic regression analysis to explain the relationship between the dependent (LBW) and independent variables (health insurance status, prenatal care, and inter-pregnancy interval).
Out of 300 mothers, the majority were in the age group 21-34 years (86%). The LBWI mothers were insured in about 55% of cases. Around 43% had insurance for 1-2 years, and 44.7% of insured mothers were covered by a "class A" health plan. The findings revealed a significant correlation between the duration of maternal insurance coverage period and LBW; it reduced the risk of LBW by 95% CI. The inter-pregnancy interval was 51.3%, with a p-value of 0.33.
Private health insurance offers coverage, stability, and consistency in Saudi Arabia, which results in better birth outcomes by decreasing both infant mortality and morbidity rates among insured females.