Declining rates of sterilisation reversal procedures in western Australian women from 1990 to 2008: the relationship with age, hospital type and government policy changes.

BACKGROUND: Female sterilisation is usually performed on an elective basis at perceived family completion, however, around 1-3% of women who have undergone sterilisation elect to undergo sterilisation reversal (SR) at a later stage. The trends in SR rates in Western Australia (WA), proportions of SR procedures between hospital types (public and private), and the effects of Federal Government policies on these trends are unknown. METHODS: Using records from statutory state-wide data collections of hospital separations and births, we conducted a retrospective descriptive study of all women aged 15-49 years who underwent a SR procedure during the period 1st January 1990 to 31st December 2008 (n = 1868 procedures). RESULTS: From 1991 to 2007 the annual incidence rate of SR procedures per 10,000 women declined from 47.0 to 3.6. Logistic regression modelling showed that from 1997 to 2001 the odds of women undergoing SR in a private hospital as opposed to all other hospitals were 1.39 times higher (95% CI 1.07-1.81) and 7.51 times higher (95% CI 5.46-10.31) from 2002 to 2008. There were significant decreases in SR rates overall and among different age groups after the Federal Government interventions. CONCLUSION: Rates of SR procedures in WA have declined from 1990 to 2008, particularly following policy changes such as the introduction of private health insurance (PHI) policies. This suggests decisions to undergo SR may be influenced by Federal Government interventions.

Morbidity due to acute lower respiratory infection in children with birth defects: a total population-based linked data study.

BACKGROUND: Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are leading causes of hospitalisation in children. Birth defects occur in 5% of live births in Western Australia (WA). The association between birth defects and ALRI hospitalisation is unknown. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 245,249 singleton births in WA (1996-2005). Population-based hospitalisation data were linked to the WA Register of Developmental Anomalies to investigate ALRI hospitalisations in children with and without birth defects. We used negative binomial regression to estimate associations between birth defects and number of ALRI hospitalisations before age 2 years, adjusting for known risk factors. RESULTS: Overall, 9% of non-Aboriginal children and 37% of Aboriginal children with birth defects had at least one ALRI admission before age 2 years. Aboriginal children (IRR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.9-2.8) and non-Aboriginal children (IRR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.8-2.2) with birth defects had higher rates of hospitalisation for an ALRI than children with no birth defects. Rates of ALRI hospitalisation varied by type of defect but were increased for all major birth defects categories, the highest rate being for children with Down syndrome (IRR 8.0, 95% CI: 5.6-11.5). The rate of ALRI hospitalisation was 3 times greater in children with multiple birth defects than in those with isolated defects. CONCLUSIONS: Children with birth defects experience higher rates of hospitalisation for ALRIs before age 2 years than children with no birth defects. Optimal vaccination coverage and immunoprophylaxis for specific categories of birth defects would assist in reducing hospitalisation rates for ALRI.

Declining rates of sterilization procedures in Western Australian women from 1990 to 2008: the relationship with age, hospital type, and government policy changes.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in age-specific incidence rates of female sterilization (FS) procedures in Western Australia and to evaluate the effects of the introduction of government-subsidized contraceptive methods and the implementation of the Australian government's baby bonus policy on FS rates. DESIGN: Population-based retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): All women ages 15-49 undergoing an FS procedure during the period January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2008 (n = 47,360 procedures). INTERVENTION(S): Records from statutory statewide data collections of hospitals separations and births were extracted and linked. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Trends in FS procedures and the influence on these trends of the introduction of government policies: subsidization of long-acting reversible contraceptives (Implanon and Mirena) and the Australian baby bonus initiative. RESULT(S): The annual incidence rate of FS procedures declined from 756.9 per 100,000 women in 1990 to 155.2 per 100,000 women in 2008. Compared with the period 1990-1994, women ages 30-39 years were 47% less likely (rate ratio [RR] = 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.72) to undergo sterilization during the period 2005-2008. Adjusting for overall trend, there were significant decreases in FS rates after government subsidization of Implanon (RR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97) and Mirena (RR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.73-0.91) and the introduction of the baby bonus (RR = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.61-0.81). CONCLUSION(S): Rates of female sterilization procedures in Western Australia have declined substantially across all age groups in the last two decades. Women's decisions to undergo sterilization procedures may be influenced by government interventions that increase access to long-term reversible contraceptives or encourage childbirth.