Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29751800›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2018

Does exam-targeted training help village doctors pass the certified (assistant) physician exam and improve their practical skills? A cross-sectional analysis of village doctors' perspectives in Changzhou in Eastern China.

Xiaohong Li, Jay J Shen, Fang Yao, Chunxin Jiang, Fengshui Chang, Fengfeng Hao, Jun Lu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Xiaohong LiDepartment of Health Policy and Management, China Research Center On Disability, Innovation Center for Social Risk Governance in Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, P.O. Box 177, 130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Jay J ShenDepartment of Health Care Administration and Policy, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USA.
Fang YaoChangzhou Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Changzhou, China.
Chunxin JiangChangzhou Commission of Health and Family Planning, Changzhou, China.
Fengshui ChangDepartment of Health Policy and Management, China Research Center On Disability, Innovation Center for Social Risk Governance in Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, P.O. Box 177, 130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Fengfeng HaoDepartment of Health Policy and Management, China Research Center On Disability, Innovation Center for Social Risk Governance in Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, P.O. Box 177, 130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Jun LuDepartment of Health Policy and Management, China Research Center On Disability, Innovation Center for Social Risk Governance in Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, P.O. Box 177, 130 Dong'an Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. lujun@shmu.edu.cn.
Fudan University · CNUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas · US

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 71573049
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQuality of health care needs to be improved in rural China. The Chinese government, based on the 1999 Law on Physicians, started implementing the Rural Doctor Practice Regulation in 2004 to increase the percentage of certified physicians among village doctors. Special exam-targeted training for rural doctors therefore was launched as a national initiative. This study examined these rural doctors' perceptions of whether that training helps them pass the exam and whether it improves their skills.

methodsThree counties were selected from the 4 counties in Changzhou City in eastern China, and 844 village doctors were surveyed by a questionnaire in July 2012. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to identify differences of attitudes about the exam and training between the rural doctors and certified (assistant) doctors. Longitudinal annual statistics (1980-2014) of village doctors were further analyzed.

resultsEight hundred and forty-four village doctors were asked to participate, and 837 (99.17%) responded. Only 14.93% of the respondents had received physician (assistant) certification. Only 49.45% of the village doctors thought that the areas tested by the certification exam were closely related to the healthcare needs of rural populations. The majority (86.19%) felt that the training program was "very helpful" or "helpful" for preparing for the exam. More than half the village doctors (61.46%) attended the "weekly school". The village doctors considered the most effective method of learning was "continuous training (40.36%)" . The majority of the rural doctors (89.91%) said they would be willing to participate in the training and 96.87% stated that they could afford to pay up to 2000 yuan for it.

conclusionsThe majority of village doctors in Changzhou City perceived that neither the certification exam nor the training for it are closely related to the actual healthcare needs of rural residents. Policies and programs should focus on providing exam-preparation training for selected rural doctors, reducing training expenditures, and utilizing web-based methods. The training focused on rural practice should be provided to all village doctors, even certified physicians. The government should also adjust the local licensing requirements to attract and recruit new village doctors.

Indexed as

CertificationClinical CompetenceHealth Services Needs and DemandRural Health ServicesAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelChinaChi-Square DistributionCommunity Health WorkersCross-Sectional StudiesEducational MeasurementEducation, ContinuingHumansPhysician AssistantsQualitative ResearchRural PopulationCertified assistant physicianCertified physicianChinaHealthcare workforceRural healthTrainingVillage doctors

Identifiers

PMID29751800
PMCPMC5948688
OpenAlexW2805088478

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.