Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41163926›Full record

ArticleRisk management and healthcare policy2025

The Ecology of Medical Care in Shanghai: Temporal Trends and International Comparisons.

Lin Pan, Biao Wang, Rui Huang, Li Luo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Risk management and healthcare policy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

4 authors.

Lin Pan *School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Biao Wang *School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Rui HuangShanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Li LuoSchool of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: To better understand the temporal evolution of healthcare utilization in Shanghai, this study examines changes in Shanghai's ecology of medical care from 2018 to 2023 and compares them with other countries to contextualize global trends. Methods: Using data from the 7th Shanghai Health Service Survey (2023), this study estimated monthly health-related symptoms and healthcare-seeking behaviors per 1,000 residents, examined subgroup differences via logistic regression, and contextualized findings through a scoping review of international studies applying the ecology of medical care framework. Results: In 2023, per 1,000 Shanghai residents per month, 503 reported illness, 495 sought treatments (including healthcare visits or self-medication), 228 visited healthcare facilities, 144 visited primary care, 98 self-medicated, 31 used TCM, 6 were hospitalized, and 3 underwent surgery. Compared to 2018, self-reported illness (+59), treatment seeking (+62), and self-medication (+6) increased, while outpatient visits, primary care, TCM use, and hospitalizations declined. Internationally, Shanghai shows relatively low illness reporting, primary care use, TCM use, and hospitalization rates, but relatively high treatment-seeking and self-medication. Conclusion: These findings suggest a shift in Shanghai's healthcare utilization from formal services toward individual-led actions, with increased treatment-seeking, higher self-medication, and decreased outpatient, primary care, TCM, and hospitalization use. Internationally, Shanghai shows a distinctive pattern of high treatment-seeking and self-care despite low formal service use, indicating greater reliance on informal health strategies.

Indexed as

ChinaLogistic regressionPatterns of healthcare utilizationShanghaiThe ecology of medical care

Identifiers

PMID41163926
PMCPMC12560042

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.