Objective To provide references for the rational allocation of health personnel in rural hospitals through understanding the status of health human resources of rural hospitals in remote and poor areas of Sichuan Province. Methodes This study used cluster sampling method, combined with questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews. A total of 711 health workers of 29 rural hospitals in Pengzhou and Baoxing of Sichuan Province were interviewed. SPSS16.0 was used for descriptive analysis.Results The average age of rural hospitals health personnel in remote and poor areas of Sichuan Province was 30 years old. Post-secondary education accounted for 58.12%, and Bachelor degree or above accounted for 7.2%. The number of medium and senior professional titles account for 8.4 %. The ratio of doctors to nurses was 1:0.55. In the survey of health workers, those doctors with practice (assistant) license accounted for 38.5%, and those without any qualification occupied 27.1 %. Conclusions The professional titles of medical personnel of rural hospitals in remote and poor areas in Sichuan province are generally low. The distribution of professional categories is irrational. The staff in charge of prevention and care are inadequate. There exist a large number of unqualified medical workers. Therefore, the government should increase the investment in rural health and take measures to stabilize the team structure, introduce the talented, and strengthen the training for health personnel of rural hospitals to improve their overall quality.
ObjectiveTo explore the quality of life (QOL) of rural cognitive function impaired elderly in Guangyuan city and analysis the influencing factors, in order to provide evidence for improving the QOL of rural cognitive function impaired elderly. MethodsBy stratified cluster sampling method, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was adopted in the cognitive function impaired screening in Guangyuan rural area of Sichuan province in 2012, then we used SF-12 questionnaire to evaluate the QOL of those rural elderly (more than 60 years old) whose cognitive function was impaired. ResultsA total of 270 rural cognitive function impaired elderly were selected from 735 old people. The results of QOL assessment showed that:the mean of physical component summary (PCS) was 37.93±11.55, and the mean of mental component summary (MCS) was 44.07±13.14. Gender, age, education levels, economic situation of the selfassessment, chronic disease, being engaging in physical labour and daily life care were correlated with the score of QOL. ConclusionIn order to improve their QOL, we should help the elderly with cognitive function impaired and focus on prevention and individual treatment; their special difficulties should be fully considered when making the policy of health care and social security.
Objective To investigate the residents’ needs, demand and utilizations of health service in Pingshan Xibaipo town in Hebei province, so as to provide baseline data for the establishment of a rural hospital’s comprehensive model. Method We conducted the survey which using questionnaires to collect the information of all residents in 16 villages of Xibaipo town. The contents of the survey was residents’ spectrum of disease, health service needs, demand and utilization, the cost and Evaluation of medical services, etc. SPSS 17.0 software was used for descriptive analysis. Result The local health services situation was ‘high need, low-use’. The participation rate of the new rural cooperative medical care (NCMS) was 98.06%. Most residents choose rural hospital as the hospital to visits and hospitalization. The evaluation of the equipment and the reasonableness of the charges was lowest. There was a great demand for periodic physical examination and health education. Conclusion The proportion of Health service needs Converse to health services use is low. The health services of major diseases such as hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases need to focus on strengthening. The government should increase financial investment and strengthen basic health resources, strive to do a good work of the residents’ health education and physical examination.
ObjectiveTo understand the treatment status and economic burden of convulsive epilepsy patients in Hailin City, Heilongjiang Province, who had received an epilepsy management program that was terminated for 6 years, and to estimate the long-term effect of the epilepsy management program.MethodsFollow up the 234 patients in the program of epilepsy prevention and management in rural areas at the end of December 2011 by standardized questionnaire and interview.ResultsAmong the 234 patients who received antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and follow-up management at the end of epilepsy prevention and management program in rural areas, 172 patients received Phenobarbitone (PB) and 62 patients received Sodium valproate (VPA). 86 patients completed the survey. Among them, 46 (53.49%) were still taking original drugs, 31 (36.05%) changed to other AEDs, 9(10.47%) gave up the treatment due to the closure of the program. The treatment costs of patients in adherence group were also lower than that of other patients, and the average cost was only 43.61% of that of the replace group. There were statistical significant differences in annual household income, drug costs, offset seizure frequency and current seizure frequency between the two groups.ConclusionThe epilepsy management program had remarkable long-term effects and short-term effects, it had advantages in treatment effect and reducing drug costs. It could be recommended throughout rural China.
Objective To investigate the satisfaction of participants in Wenjiang District of Chengdu regarding the New-style Rural Cooperative Medical Care (NRCMC), and to analyse its factors in order to help the decision makers optimize and improve the scheme in the future.Methods Three towns of Wenjiang District were selected for study by computer simple random sampling. Five percent of NRCMC participants were randomly selected in Wenjiang for a face-to-face interview using a questionnaire. Data entry and statistical analysis were completed by Epidata 3.0 and SPSS 11.5 respectively. Results A total of 2500 questionnaires were conducted for face-to-face interviews, and 2438 questionnaires were returned (response rate 97.6%); 58% participants were satisfied with NRCMC, and the results of stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that their desire to participation (partial regression coefficient B=-3.54, P=0.014) and the satisfaction with the present compensation proportion (partial regression coefficient B=-4.62, P=0.018) were the most important factors that influenced the total satisfaction with NRCMC.Conclusion It is of great significance to strengthen the promotion of NRCMC; reasonably establish the compensation mode and proportion; encourge voluntary participation for the sake of their benefits to improve the quality and performance of NRCMC.
ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension in urban and rural residents in Chengdu. MethodsA cluster random sampling survey was carried out from February to October in 2010. A total of 2 011 residents aged 35-70 years in four communities of Chengdu (two communities in urban area, two in rural area) were investigated for the incidence of hypertension. Analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 software. ResultsThe standardized prevalence of hypertension was 31.30% among residents aged 35-70 years, which was much higher in urban than that in rural:39.03% vs. 24.90% (P < 0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, age, waist, heart rate, fasting blood glucose and education level were the major risk factors of hypertension for male; while age, waist, heart rate, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and uric acid were the major risk factors for female. ConclusionThe prevalence of hypertension in urban is higher than that in rural in Chengdu. Prevention and intervention should be performed more for whom have increased waist circumfluence, abnormal levels of fasting glucose, and increased heart rate.
ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of impaired glucose regulation (IGR) and IGR combined with cardiovascular risk factors in rural areas of Chengdu City. MethodsFrom February to October 2010, we randomly sampled 1 016 patients in a rural community 100 kilometers away from the city center as the study subjects. The investigation was carried out by using questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory tests. The standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was used. ResultsA total of 1 016 subjects were investigated, among whom there were 431 males and 585 females with an average age of 56 years old. Of these subjects, 333 were diagnosed to have IGR with a rate of 32.77% (333/1 016). The age-adjusted standardized prevalence of pre-diabetes in rural areas in Chengdu was 32.52% (336/1 016), and the male and female prevalence were respectively 30.63% (132/431) and 34.36% (201/585) without significant difference (χ2=1.569，P=0.210). Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was the most common type of glycometabolism abnormality. Women had a significantly higher prevalence of IGT than men. In IGR population, major cardiovascular risk factors were overweight and obesity (40.8%), high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (38.4%), high triglyceride (30.3%), hypertension (23.7%), smoking (24.3%), and drinking alcohol (23.7%). The stratified analysis showed that the prevalence of overweight, obesity and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol in female was significantly higher than that in males, while the prevalence of smoking and drinking alcohol was significantly higher in males. ConclusionIn rural areas, the prevalence of pre-diabetes is high and complicated with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.
Objective To understand the demands on portable medicine kit of rural residents in well-off township hospitals, and to provide the basis for scientifically designing portable medicine kit for rural residents. Methods The methods of combining simple random sampling and cluster sampling were used to investigate and analyze the demands on portable medicine kit for 162 households from three well-off township hospitals in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Sichuan province, respectively. Results The demand rate of 162 rural households on portable medicine kit was 75.3% (122/162). The main drugs that demanders expected in the portable medicine kit were cold medicine (86.1%), wound paste (82.0%), cooling oil (61.5%), essential balm (54.9%) and antihypertensive (34.4%); and the main medical devices that demanders expected were thermometer (82%), cotton swab (73%) and sphygmomanometer (32.8%). The sizes of portable medicine kit that demanders expected were 23.7±8.5 cm in length, 17.1±6.4 cm in width, and 14.1±6.5 cm in height. The main function characteristics of portable medicine kit that demanders expected were applicability (74.6%), safety (60.7%), light weight (68.0%), economics (60.7%), and waterproof (46.7%). A total of 72.1% of demanders expected the price of less than 15 yuan, and 91.8% expected kit made of hard materials as plastic as the first choice. Conclusion The demand rate of rural residents on portable medicine kit is higher in well-off township hospital. The design and production of portable medicine kit should fully meet the demands of rural residents. Only when sufficiant respect for the market demand is paid, can the promotion and application of portable kits will be ensured.
Objective To understand the current situation of Chengdu primary health workers’ performance baseline, and to provide decision-making proof and policy recommendations for Chengdu Coordinated and Balanced Urban-rural Development as well as improve primary health workers’ performance in China. Method See the second study in this series. Result The number of the patients of the Chengdu seven Rural Hospitals / Centers showed a trend of slow increase, and all was higher than the national rural hospital average level except the 2 most remote rural hospitals(“Renhe” and “Bailu”). The seven Rural Hospitals / Centers could provide data about the “Six in One” work, and the performance was generally better than that of the world and the national average level , but showed a decreasing trend from the first circle to the third circle in Chengdu. The rate of patients’ satisfaction and very satisfaction for the Rural Hospitals / Centers “Six in One” work reached 65%-80%, but the rate of health workers’ job satisfaction and very satisfaction only reached 9%-46%, and also showed a decreasing trend from the first circle to the third circle. Conclusion The Chengdu primary health workers provide “Six in One” health service with a higher quality than the world and the national average levels. However, the number of the workers is less than enough; the human managerial structure is irrational; the educational and professional levels are low; their treatment and the work environment are poor. The distribution density , the academic qualification and the structure rationality of professional ranks of health personnel show a decreasing trend, and the difficulty of the service is gradually increasing from the first circle to the third circle, which causes the satisfaction rate of the workers’ job to decrease gradually from the first circle to the third circle. Suggestion: ① To make special performance assessment standard for special health institutions or personnel, and to give the continual oriented training chance for current health personnel. ② To integrate the regional health resources; to establish long-term and stable regional bilateral appointment help policy, technical and rational two-way referral system and indicator systems. ③ To take measures to solve the problems affecting the professional promotion and improvement of the grass-root health personnel.
ObjectiveTo investigate the human resources of village doctors for integrated management among township hospitals and village clinics in Xinjing county of Chengdu in 2010, so as to provide the evidence for optimal allocation of human resources in village level. MethodsThe information of village doctors in 2010, such as age, gender, educational level, professional license and work experience, were collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0. Resultsa) In Xinjin county, 213 village doctors were managed by 11 township hospitals (TH) in 2010 with the average of 19 village doctors in each TH; b) only 3 out of 11 THs achieved the national requirement of at least one village doctor per 1 000 rural population; to a greater or lesser extent, the shortage of village doctors existed in the rest 8 THs; c) Among the village doctors, the male-to-female ratio was 2.2 (68.5% vs. 31.5%). The village doctors younger than 45 years, 45 to 59 years, or no less than 60 years accounted for 42.8%, 18.8%, 38.5%, respectively. Those who graduated from secondary schools or elementary schools accounted for 90% (52.6% and 38%, respectively). d) Only 94.8% had the village doctor license. Among the 213 village doctors, only 1.4% and 3.6% were registered doctors or assistant doctors respectively. Those who worked longer than 30 years, 20-29 years, 10 to 19 years, and 5 to 9 years accounted for 44.6%, 12.2%, 29.6% and 6.1%, respectively. ConclusionThe quantity and quality of the village doctors in Xinjin county were insufficient to meet the requirement with aging teams, low education levels, and lack of professional qualifications. Therefore, the related policies should be implemented to maintain the stability of the village doctor teams, to improve the qualification and quality of service, and to promote the sustainable development of primary healthcare services.