Does the Delivery of Primary Health Care Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from the Rollout of Community Health Centers

Esra Kose, Siobhan M. O'Keefe and Maria Rosales-Rueda

No 30047, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Community Health Centers (CHCs) deliver primary care to underserved populations by locating sliding-scale clinics in economically disadvantaged areas. We investigate how this policy affected infant health using the rollout of CHCs and a flexible event study framework with Vital Statistics natality data. We find that maternal access to CHCs improves infant health outcomes within seven years after their introduction. Treatment-on-the-treated estimates show a 25 to 42 gram increase in birth weight and a 9% to 16% reduction in the likelihood of low birth weight. These improvements in infant health can be explained by increased access to early prenatal care and reductions in maternal smoking.

JEL-codes: I38 J13 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-hea
Note: CH EH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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