The Inverse Equity Hypothesis: Analyses of Institutional Deliveries in 286 National Surveys

To test the inverse equity hypothesis, which postulates that new health interventions are initially adopted by the wealthy and thus increase inequalities-as population coverage increases, only the poorest will lag behind all other groups.We analyzed the proportion of births occurring in a health facility by wealth quintile in 286 surveys from 89 low- and middle-income countries (1993-2015) and developed an inequality pattern index. Positive...