Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32711467›Full record

ArticleBMC family practice2020

Analysing the preferences for family doctor contract services in rural China: a study using a discrete choice experiment.

Peipei Fu, Yi Wang, Shimeng Liu, Jiajia Li, Qiufeng Gao, Chengchao Zhou, Qingyue Meng, Sean Sylvia

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC family practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
7.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 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

8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Peipei FuNHC Key Laboratory of Health Economics and Policy Research, School of Health Care Management, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
Yi WangSchool of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
Shimeng LiuKey Lab of Health Technology Assessment, National Health Comission, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jiajia LiSchool of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
Qiufeng GaoCenter for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
Chengchao ZhouKey Lab of Health Economics and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Shandong University, 44 Wen-hua-xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China. zhouchengchao@sdu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-9364-3579
Qingyue MengChina Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, No. 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191, China. qmeng@bjmu.edu.cn.
Sean SylviaDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Shandong University · CNFudan University · CNPeking University · CNShaanxi Normal University · CNUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

China Medical Board 16-257National Science Foundation of China 71003067,71473152,71774104NHC Key Laboratory Fund NHC-HEPR2019002Shandong University IFYT18032,IFYT181031,IFYT1810
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPreliminary evaluations have found that family doctor contract services (FDCSs) have significantly controlled medical expenses, better managed chronic diseases, and increased patient satisfaction and service compliance. In 2016, China proposed the establishment of a family doctor system to carry out contract services, but studies have found the uptake and utilization of these services to be limited. This study aimed to investigate rural residents' preferences for FDCSs from the perspective of the Chinese public.

methodsA discrete choice experiment (DCE) was performed to elicit the preferences for FDCSs among rural residents in China. Attributes and levels were established based on a literature review and qualitative methods. Five attributes, i.e., cost, medicine availability, the reimbursement rate, family doctor competence, and family doctor attitude, were evaluated using a mixed logit model.

resultsA total of 609 residents were included in the main DCE analysis. The respondents valued the high competence (coefficient 2.44, [SE 0.13]) and the good attitude (coefficient 1.42, [SE 0.09]) of family doctors the most. Cost was negatively valued (coefficient - 0.01, [SE 0.01]), as expected. Preference heterogeneity analysis was conducted after adjusting the interaction terms, and we found that rural residents with higher educational attainment prefer a good attitude more than their counterparts with lower educational attainment. The estimated willingness to pay (WTP) for "high" relative to "low" competence was 441.13 RMB/year, and the WTP for a provider with a "good" attitude relative to a "poor" attitude was 255.77 RMB/year.

conclusionThe present study suggests that strengthening and improving the quality of primary health care, including the competence and attitudes of family doctors, should be prioritized to increase the uptake of FDCSs. The contract service package, including the annual cost, the insurance reimbursement rate and individualized services, should be redesigned to be congruent with residents having different health statuses and their stated preferences.

Indexed as

Physicians, FamilyRural PopulationChinaChoice BehaviorChronic DiseaseContract ServicesHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesChinaFamily doctor contract servicesPrimary careRural resident preferences

Identifiers

PMID32711467
PMCPMC7382837
OpenAlexW3045351153

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.