Table 2 Bivariate associations of NICU characteristics with quality, Baby-MONITOR scores, in California 2008–2011 (N = 119 NICUs).

From: Multilevel social factors and NICU quality of care in California

Characteristics

All

Baby-MONITOR score (tertile based on distribution of NICU)

P value (Chi-square test or ANOVA test)

Tertile 1 (lowest quality)

Tertile 2

Tertile 3 (highest quality)

N or mean

% or SD

N (39) or mean

% or SD

N (40) or mean

% or SD

N (40) or mean

% or SD

NICU patient population characteristicsa

 Maternal racial/ethnic composition

   % NH White (mean, SD)

26%

15

20%

11

26%

14

32%

16

<0.01

   % NH Black (mean, SD)

14%

11

16%

11

13%

11

12%

10

0.36

   % Hispanic (mean, SD)

48%

17

53%

13

48%

18

44%

19

0.03

   % Asian/Pacific Islander (mean, SD)

10%

9

8%

8

12%

12

10%

5

0.40

Maternal education composition

  % <High school (mean, SD)

24%

14

29%

13

21%

13

22%

13

0.04

  % High school graduate (mean, SD)

26%

9

29%

8

26%

11

24%

8

0.86

  % Some college and associate degree (mean, SD)

24%

8

24%

8

23%

9

26%

6

0.74

  % Bachelor’s degree and above (mean, SD)

21%

15

14%

9

24%

18

23%

14

0.02

 % of infants cared for at nearest NICU to maternal address

38%

29

37%

28

37%

30

41%

31

0.75

NICU catchment area characteristicsa,b

  Tertile 1 of composite nSES score (lowest SES)

39

32.8%

21

53.9%

10

25.0%

8

20.0%

 

  Tertile 2 of composite nSES score

40

33.6%

12

30.8%

15

37.5%

13

32.5%

 

  Tertile 3 of composite nSES score (highest SES)

39

32.8%

6

15.4%

14

35.0%

19

47.5%

0.01

  Total population (mean, SD)

47889

5945

4772

6423

4836

669

4758

468

0.83

  Population density (mean, SD)

3628

2056

3891

2233

3948

2332

3061

1423

0.10

  % NH White (mean, SD)

34%

15

30%

14

30%

15

41%

15

<0.01

  % NH Black (mean, SD)

7%

6

9%

7

6%

5

6%

4

0.03

  % Hispanic (mean, SD)

44%

16

48%

13

48%

17

37%

14

<0.01

  % Asian/Pacific Islander (mean, SD)

12%

8

11%

6

14%

10

13%

8

0.28

  % Foreign born (mean, SD)

30%

9

30%

9

33%

9

27%

8

0.02

  % Crowding (mean, SD)

12%

6

13%

6

12%

6

9%

5

0.01

  % Traveled to work by car/motorcycle (mean, SD)

85%

7

85%

6

85%

8

86%

5

0.83

  % Traveled to work by public transport (mean, SD)

5%

5

6%

5

6%

6

5%

4

0.46

  % Traveled to work by walk/bike (mean, SD)

1%

1

1%

0

1%

0

2%

1

0.34

  % Work at home (mean, SD)

4%

1

4%

1

4%

1

5%

1

0.08

  % Traveled 60+ min to work (mean, SD)

3%

1

3%

1

3%

2

3%

1

0.32

  Street connectivity/gamma (mean, SD)

0.5

0

0.5

0

0.5

0.0

0.4

0.0

0.08

  Traffic density (mean, SD)

100448

50218

100582

54776

108853

53303

92121

41618

0.34

  Parks per 1000 population (mean, SD)

0.7

0.4

0.6

0.5

0.6

0.4

0.8

0.4

0.05

  Total businesses per 1000 population (mean, SD)

160

408

223

674

112

98

145

200

0.47

  Recreational facilities per 1000 population (mean, SD)

3.9

9.7

5.4

15.6

2.5

3.3

3.8

5.3

0.43

  Restaurant Environment Index (REI) (mean, SD)

0.3

0.1

0.3

0.1

0.3

0.1

0.3

0.1

0.23

  Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) (mean, SD)

1.3

0.3

1.3

0.3

1.2

0.3

1.3

0.3

0.93

  1. aThe following variables did not have statistically significant distributions that varied by NICU quality tertiles: Hospital characteristics (Neonatologist available 24 h per day; type of hospital ownership; teaching hospital; AAP level of care; number of NICU beds; number of NICU admissions; registered nursing hours per patient day; number of licensed NICU beds; number of available NICU beds; number of staffed NICU beds), NICU patient characteristics (maternal racial/ethnic composition—% NH Black, % NH API; maternal education composition—% high school graduate, % some college/associate degree), catchment area characteristics (total population, population density, % API, % commute by car/motorcycle, public transportation, walk/bike, % work at home, traffic density, parks per 1000 population, total businesses, recreational facilities and food environment).
  2. bAverage of tract-level measures within each catchment area.