Objective To investigate the performance of Essential Medicine List (EML) policy over the past one year in Xintian Township Health Center (XTHC), so as to provide references for the delivery, storage and compensation mechanism of essential medicine for township hospitals. Methods Focus interview combined with a questionnaire was carried out to investigate the supply and usage of EML, the situation of both diagnosis-treatment services and the income-expenditure change before and after EML policy. Results a) It showed that there was an increasing trend with the preparation rate of EML from 62.2% before implementation to 87.3% after, and the proportion of EML income to total medicine expenses increased from 39.3% to 90.6% in XTHC. But problems still existed such as incomplete and old variety of medicine; b) The numbers of outpatient-time and inpatient-time kept growing, while medical cost for both average clinic cost and average hospitalization cost decreased to different extent; c) Although the gross income increased slightly, this center was still running in the red with the limited amount of financial assistance; and d) The proportion of medical care and drug kept decreasing while the proportion of drug cost and examination cost kept increasing. Compared with the situation in 2009, the proportion of examination cost from 2010 to 2011 had increased by 30%, and it still remained at the previous level after EML implementation. Conclusion The implementation of EML does not completely change the predicament of “Make compensation for doctors by selling drugs” in township health center. Owing to the sale policy of zero price difference and the poor performance of compensation for township health centers, XTHC is still running under deficit. Evidence-based medicine selection and research on compensation mechanism for underdeveloped areas are urgently needed.
ObjectiveTo investigate the health technologies on diabetes prevention and management used in rural China and the assessment results of these health technologies, and to provide references for the selection and using of health technologies on diabetes prevention and management in rural China.
MethodsWe searched VIP, CNKI, CBM and WanFang Data to collect survey studies and assessment reports of health technologies on diabetes prevention and management in rural China. The search date was up to July 15th, 2014. Two reviewers independently screened literature, and then the qualitative analysis was performed for the included studies.
ResultsA total of 15 studies were included. The results of qualitative analysis showed that:the targeted populations were patients and ordinary villagers who had received the service or treatment of diabetes health technology in rural, as well as the grassroots medical technical personnel and promotion staffs who had developed the health technologies. Diabetes health technology studies in rural mainly included medical personnel health technology related knowledge training. The contents of health technology assessment involved effectiveness, acceptability, economic characteristics, requirements and technical specific property.
ConclusionThere was limited researches on the investigation and analysis of health technologies on diabetes prevention and management in rural China, and evaluation content remains insufficient.
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.
Objective To study the distribution of HIV/AIDS high-risk population, HIV infection and the main risk factors for developing HIV/AIDS’ controllable measures and exploring appropriate health education and behavior intervention models. Methods A total of 360 commercial sex workers (CSW) joined together through convenience sampling and 360 drug users (DU) joined together through convenience sampling or snow-balling sampling whose relevant behavior factors were investigated by questionnaires. Results The general rate of knowing knowledge about AIDS was 75.2% among 360 CSW, 67.8% CSW used condom in commercial sex activities; none of 149 CSW blood samples was detected HIV or syphilis antibody positive. The general rate of knowing knowledge about AIDS was 83.7% among 360 DU who injected drugs last month, the rate of sharing needles was 47.6% and the low rate of condom used; 1 HIV antibody and 5 syphilis antibodies positive were found among 198 DU blood samples, so HIV and syphilis infection rate were 0.51%and 2.53%, respectively. Conclusion The rate of HIV infection is a very low level and there are many risk factors among CSW and DU. A good job should be done to integrate AIDS health education with behavioral intervention and the monitoring system for the AIDS/HIV high-risk population should be improved.
Abstract Objective To investigate the disease constitution and hospitalization expenses in Songqiao Central Township Health Center (SqC) in Gaoyou City of Jiangsu Province in 2010, so as to provide the baseline data of disease burden for further study. Methods The inpatient records of SqC in 2010 were collected. The first discharge diagnoses were classified according to the International Classification of Disease 10 (ICD-10). The general information of the inpatients, discharge diagnosis, hospitalization expenses, disease category, age, gender, and reimbursement of expenses were described and analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0 software. Results a) The total number of inpatients was 1036 in 2010, and the gender ratio was about 1.0 (50.7% vs. 49.3%); b) The disease spectrum included 17 categories. The cumulative percents of the top 5 systematic diseases were 81.2%, including the respiratory, digestive, neoplasm, circulatory diseases, and injury, poisoning amp; external causes; c) The top 15 diseases were pneumonia, fracture, malignant neoplasm, benign neoplasm, acute bronchitis, cerebral infarction, hypertension, acute appendicitis, emphysema, cholecystolithias accompanied with cholecystitis, inguinal hernia, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic bronchitis and superficial injury; d) The patients suffering from pneumonia and acute bronchitis were mainly over 65 years old and younger than 5; e) The number of chronic diseases significantly increased with age, especially after the age of 35 years old, and reached the peak at the age over 65 years old; while the acute diseases were mainly distributed at the age younger than 15 yeas old and older than 65 years old. The average length of stay, the total hospitalization and out-of-pocket expenses per capita of the chronic diseases were more than those of the acute ones (13.8 days vs. 9.9 days, ? 3 082 vs. ? 2 615; ? 417 vs. ? 371, respectively); f)The length of stay and total hospitalization per capita were quite higher than the other township health centers (11.6 days vs. 5.2 days, ? 3 001.4 vs. ? 1 004.6); and g) Both of the total reimbursement and out-of-pocket expenses per capita accounted for 44%-57% of the total hospitalization expenses. Among the total reimbursement, the payment from New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) accounted for over 99%, while that from Medical Aid Scheme only accounted for less than 2%. Conclusion a) The top 3 systematic diseases of SqC are seen in respiratory system, digestive system and neoplasm. The acute diseases are mainly pneumonia and fracture; b) The number of acute or chronic diseases increases significantly with age, especially after 35 years old. Both adolescents and the aged suffer from the heaviest burden of diseases; c) The average length of stay and hospitalization expenses pre capita of SqC are much higher than those of the other township health centers; and d) NCMS is the major source of reimbursement. However, the proportion of out-of-pocket expenses and the burden of diseases are still very high and heavy. Thus the policy of NCMS needs to be adjusted step by step in future.
Objective To investigate infertile inpatients hospitalized in Pingjin Hospital in Tianjin from 2008 to 2010, so as to provide baseline data for further research. Methods According to diagnosis criteria of WHO, we collected demographical characteristics, disease cause and cost constitution of infertility inpatients hospitalized in Pingjin Hospital in Tianjin from 2008 to 2010. The data of each patient were input into ACCESS database and SPSS 13.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results a) From 2008 to 2010, there were 1 452 infertile patients from 33 different areas of mainland China, 79.7% of which was from the north of China. b) The mean age was 31.2±4.3 years old. The percentage of patients aged 30 to 34 years accounted for the most (40.3%). Mental laborers (23.3%) were more than physical laborers (7.2%). 36.7% of patients received education from universities and 83.1% of patients had family income ranging from 20,000 yuan to 190,000 yuan. c) The mean age of the first sexual activity was 21.4±2.9 years old. 53.7% of patients had only one sexual partner and most couples had sexual activities twice every week. The mean age of husbands was 32.9±5.5 years old with the highest percentage of 30 to 35 years old (39.2%). The percent of intellectual work of husband was the highest (35.9%). 64.9% of patients had normal semen analysis results and 23.0% never took related examination. d) 29.9% of patients was primary infertility and 70.1% was secondary infertility, of which 57.6% had either induced or medical abortion. The mean duration of infertility was 5.2±3.5 years (range 1 to 21 year). e) 76.3% of infertile patients had pelvic adhesion and 88.6% suffered from tubal disease. Among the tubal infertile patients, 23.6% had uterine disease, 5.2% had ovarian disease, 5.0% had endometriosis, 6.7% had multiple problems, and 4.8% had unexplained infertility. In patients with tubal infertility, the incidence of distal fimbria atresia (45.8%) was higher than that of proximal block (32.9%). 24.7% of patients with fimbria atresia had hydrosalpinx and among of them, 21.1% had no hydrosalpinx. 15.2% had congenital tubal defects. f) The average hospital stay was 10.5 days and the cost was 14 253.3 yuan per person. The percentage of material cost was 29.1% and that of drugs was 18.2%. Conclusion a) The total number of infertile inpatients was 1 452 in gynecology department of Pingjin Hospital of Tianjin from 2008 to 2010. 79.7% of patient was from North China. Most of them were 30 to 34 years old and 44.3% had no job. The percentage of patients had university education and that of low-middle family income was the highest. Sexual activity was relatively traditional. Most husbands were 30 to 35 years old and intellectual workers, and 23.0% of them had never taken an examination of semen analysis. More patients were secondary infertile, and the duration of infertility was 1 to 21 years. b) 76.3% of patients had pelvic adhesion and 88.6% had tubal disease. The incidence of distal tubal fimbria atresia was higher than proximal tubal occlusion. c) The average hospital stay was 10.5 days and the cost was 14 253.3 yuan per person which was further lower than each cycle cost of assisted reproductive technology. The overall costs included materials and drugs (47.3%), which were mainly at patients’ own expense.
Objective To investigate the spectrum of diseases and the current situation of antibiotic use in rural hospitals and community health service centers in Chengdu, so as to provide evidence for selecting essential medicines and promoting rational use of antibiotics. Method We selected 7 township/community health institutions, from which we collected inpatient and outpatient information. Information about antibiotic use was also collected, including categories, cost, and dosage. A standard questionnaire was used to investigate physicians’ prescription behavior for principal diseases. Result Urban and rural areas had different spectrums of diseases. The major diseases in urban areas included diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory tract infection; while those in rural areas were infectious diseases of the respiratory system, digestive system, and urinary system. The physicians’ prescription behavior was mainly based on their personal experience. Antibiotics accounted for 30-50% of the total medicine cost. The top four types of antibiotics with the highest cost were cephalosporins, penicillin, quinolones, and macrolides. Conclusion Based on the different spectrums of diseases, essential drug lists and standard treatment guidelines appropriate for rural health care should be developed to improve the rational use of drugs. Factors such as the average cost of daily dose and the course of treatment should be taken into consideration to reduce the overall cost of medicine. An antimicrobial resistance monitoring system and special training courses on rational use of antibiotics should be utilized in the rural health institutions.
ObjectiveTo investigate and analyze the knowledge, skills and attitudes of nursing students to patient safety before and after internship so as to provide evidence for implementation of patient safety curriculum in nursing students.
MethodsUndergraduate nursing students before and after internship in nursing school of Wannan Medical College were recruited. The questionnaire method was performed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and skills of patient safety before and after the internship. The data were input using EpiData 3.0 software and were analyzed by SPSS 13.0.
ResultsA total of 451 questionnaires were distributed before the internship and of which 435 nursing students completed the survey (96.45%), 418 questionnaires were distributed after the internship, of which 412 (98.56%) nursing students completed the survey. There were significant higher scores in female nursing students after the internship in the items of 'Knowledge about medical errors' and 'What am I supposed to do when medical errors occur' (P=0.000 and 0.000, respectively), while lower scores of the items of 'Feelings about making errors' and 'Your intentions regarding patient safety' (P=0.002 and 0.006, respectively). Only the score of the item 'What am I supposed to do when medical errors occur' was significantly higher in male nursing students after the internship (P=0.046).
ConclusionThe internship is useful for improving experiencing practice, knowledge on patient safety, reduce the negative feelings about making errors.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the current status of primary healthcare system reform in Xinjin county, in order to provide baseline data for improving the healthcare service system and population health in Chengdu.
MethodsPrimary health care services and population health in Xinjin county were quantitatively described and compared.
Resultsa) Eleven township hospitals (100%) and 89 village clinics (66.42%) were upgraded according to the national standards. The management of 60 village clinics were integrated with township hospitals. And 417 and 76 essential healthcare services were provided by township hospitals and village clinics, respectively. b) In 2010, the number of outpatients and inpatients in Xinjin county were increased by 24.2% and 46.3% respectively compared to those of 2009, while the costs per outpatient visit and inpatient discharge were reduced by 21.5% and 18.6% respectively. c) In 2010, health records of 98.2% of population in Xinjin county have been established; 96.3% of pregnant women were managed systematically; 98.8% of children immunization programs were implemented; 100% patients with severe mental disorders and about 78% with hypertension and diabetes were in follow-up and treatment; and 28.8% of total population got the free physical exams in 2010. d) The essential medicine accounted for 96.7% of total types of medicines and 97.8% of total expenditure of medicines in primarily healthcare institutions in Xinjin. The cost of medicine management was reduced from 8.5% to 4.2% while the medicine turnover rate was increased by 50%. e) Average life expectancy in Xinjin county was 77.97 years, infant mortality rate was 6.82‰ in 2010; and there was no maternal death in recent 8 years. f) The regional healthcare information system was established covering three-tier rural health care network spanning the county, township and village.
Conclusiona) The primary healthcare system reform in Xinjin county improves the infrastructure of primary care system, the utilization of essential medical care, essential public health service, and essential medicines. b) Life expectancy, infant mortality rate and maternal mortality of Xinjin county are better than the average levels in Sichuan province and China. Xinjin county is a representative pilot county for healthcare service system reform in Chengdu city and a nice model to successfully promote healthcare system reform based on regional healthcare information system.
ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the medical postgraduates’ attitudes on scientific misconduct activities to provide support to scientific research integrity education.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in 3 medical schools in Sichuan province in September 2020. Medical postgraduates were investigated to report the sociodemographic information and self-attitude on research activities.ResultsOf the 983 students completed, 73.14% were pursuing the master program and 27.9% had published SCI papers. For attitudes on scientific misconduct activities, 0.93% agreed to change negative results picture into positive by software and 5.08% consented to modify data when P value was above 0.05 slightly.ConclusionsThe results of this study show that a small portion of medical postgraduates are still not resolute on academic misconduct. We should further strengthen education and establish the bottom line thinking which cannot be touched by the academic misconduct of medical postgraduates.
