Increased Inequalities in Health Resource and Access to Health Care in Rural China

Suhang Song, Beibei Yuan, Luyu Zhang, Gang Cheng, Weiming Zhu, Zhiyuan Hou, Li He, Xiaochen Ma and Qingyue Meng
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Suhang Song: School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Beibei Yuan: China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Luyu Zhang: School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Gang Cheng: China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Weiming Zhu: China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Zhiyuan Hou: School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Li He: College of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Xiaochen Ma: China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Qingyue Meng: School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Both health resources and access to these resources increased after China’s health care reform launched in 2009. However, it is not clear if the inequalities were reduced within rural China, which was one of the main targets in the reform. This study aims to examine the changes in inequalities in health resources and access following the reform. Data came from the routine report of rural counties in every other year from 2008 to 2014. Health professionals and hospital beds per 1000 population were used for measuring health resources, and the hospitalization rate was used for access. Descriptive analysis and the fixed effect model were used in this study. Health resources and access increased by about 50% between 2008 and 2014 in rural China. The counties in richer quintiles got more health resources and hospitalizations. As for health professionals, the absolute differences between the richer and the poorest quintile were significantly enlarging in 2014 when compared to 2008. Regarding the hospitalization rate, the differences between the richest and the poorest quintile showed no significant change after 2012. In sum, absolute inequalities of health resources were increased, while that of health utilization kept constant following China’s health care reform. The reform needs to continually recruit qualified health workers and appropriately allocate health infrastructures to strengthen the capacity of the health care system in the impoverished areas.

Keywords: health care reform; inequality; health resource; access; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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