Version 1
: Received: 30 April 2024 / Approved: 1 May 2024 / Online: 2 May 2024 (07:58:53 CEST)
How to cite:
Cohen, E. Call to Establish Public Policy for Regulating the Congestion in Delivery Rooms in Israel - Alternatives, Consequences, and Recommendations. Preprints2024, 2024050038. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0038.v1
Cohen, E. Call to Establish Public Policy for Regulating the Congestion in Delivery Rooms in Israel - Alternatives, Consequences, and Recommendations. Preprints 2024, 2024050038. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0038.v1
Cohen, E. Call to Establish Public Policy for Regulating the Congestion in Delivery Rooms in Israel - Alternatives, Consequences, and Recommendations. Preprints2024, 2024050038. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0038.v1
APA Style
Cohen, E. (2024). Call to Establish Public Policy for Regulating the Congestion in Delivery Rooms in Israel - Alternatives, Consequences, and Recommendations. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0038.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Cohen, E. 2024 "Call to Establish Public Policy for Regulating the Congestion in Delivery Rooms in Israel - Alternatives, Consequences, and Recommendations" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.0038.v1
Abstract
The growing congestion in delivery rooms and maternity wards in Israeli hospitals is the underlying issue of the current study. The study sought to examine various alternatives for an effective public policy aimed at reducing congestion. The choice of Israel as a case study derives from its conspicuous imbalance between supply and demand in the maternity, resulting from the high demand for prenatal and birthing services on one hand and the low supply, both in absolute terms and relative to OECD countries, of medical resources such as physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. The research findings present fertility and birth data for Israel in the last decade, which are leading to increased congestion and crowding in delivery rooms and maternity wards at local hospitals. At the same time, two possible alternatives are proposed for designing and implementing public policy capable of contributing to the regulation of this congestion. One alternative is the option of home birth and the second is promoting the establishment of private birthing centers outside the hospitals. The research conclusions indicate that policy makers in Israel must anticipate the increasing congestion in hospital delivery rooms and maternity wards and expedite efforts at designing alternative solutions before the emergence of a crisis situation that will make it essential to identify immediate solutions. The study recommends exploring and advancing the adoption of the two alternatives simultaneously as part of public policy, in the assumption that the increasing demand for pregnancy and childbirth services in Israeli society will persist and therefore it is necessary to act to increase the supply of childbirth facilities.
Keywords
Public Policy; Home Birth; Privatization; Hospital Birth; Delivery Rooms; Maternity Wards; Congestion.
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
