Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29431138›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2018

Is outpatient care benefit distribution of government healthcare subsidies equitable in rural ethnic minority areas of China? Results from cross-sectional studies in 2010 and 2013.

Mingsheng Chen, Dongfu Qian, Zhanchun Feng, Lei Si

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Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

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3citing papers in PubMed
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3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mingsheng ChenDepartment of Public Administration, School of Health Policy and Management, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Dongfu QianDepartment of Public Administration, School of Health Policy and Management, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Zhanchun FengSchool of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Lei SiCentre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesGovernment healthcare subsidies for healthcare facilities play a significant role in providing more extensive healthcare access to patients, especially poor ones. However, equitable distribution of these subsidies continues to pose a challenge in rural ethnic minority areas of China. This study aimed to evaluate the benefits distribution of outpatient services across different socioeconomic populations in China's rural ethnic minority areas.

settingInner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province.

designTwo rounds of cross-sectional study.

participantsOne thousand and seventy patients in 2010 and 907 patients in 2013, who sought outpatient services prior to completing the household surveys, were interviewed.

methodsBenefits incidence analysis was performed to measure the benefits distribution of government healthcare subsidies across socioeconomic groups. The concentration index (CI) for outpatient care at different healthcare facility levels in rural ethnic minority areas was calculated. Two rounds of household surveys using multistage stratified samples were conducted.

findingsThe overall CI for outpatient care was -0.0146 (P>0.05) in 2010 and -0.0992 (P<0.01) in 2013. In 2010, the CI was -0.0537 (P<0.01), -0.0085 (P>0.05) and -0.0034 (P>0.05) at levels of village clinics (VCs), township health centres (THCs) and county hospitals (CHs), respectively. In 2013, the CI was -0.1353 (P<0.05), -0.0695 (P>0.05) and -0.1633 (P<0.01) at the levels of VCs, THCs and CHs, respectively.

conclusionImplementation of the gatekeeper mechanism helped improve the benefits distribution of government healthcare subsidies in rural Chinese ethnic minority areas. Equitable distribution of government healthcare subsidies for VCs was improved by increasing financial input and ensuring the performance of primary healthcare facilities. Equitable distribution of subsidies for CHs was improved by policies that rationally guided patients' care-seeking behaviour. In addition, highly qualified physicians were also a key factor in ensuring equitable benefits distribution.

Indexed as

Social ClassAmbulatory CareChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFinancing, GovernmentHealthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityHumansPovertyPrimary Health CareRural Populationbenefit distributionethnic minoritygovernment healthcare subsidiesKakwani Indexoutpatient care

Identifiers

PMID29431138
PMCPMC5829884

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