Ethnic Disparities in Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Services in Rural Southwest China

Chaofang Yan, Charuwan Tadadej, Kanittha Chamroonsawasdi, Natkamol Chansatitporn and John FC Sung
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Chaofang Yan: Department of Public Health Administration, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Charuwan Tadadej: Department of Public Health Administration, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Kanittha Chamroonsawasdi: Department of Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Natkamol Chansatitporn: Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
John FC Sung: Institute of Health and Development Studies, School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Studies in China on ethnic disparities in access to health care in remote and rural population remain insufficient. This study aimed to assess the disparities in utilization of maternal and child health (MCH) services, including antenatal care (ANC), hospital birth, child growth monitoring, and immunization compliance between Han and ethnic minority women in Yunnan Province. Methods: A multi-stage sampling scheme was used to randomly recruit women from 40 townships in 14 remote prefectures of extremely remote areas in Yunnan. From birth records, we identified and recruited 303 Han women and 222 ethnic minority women who had given birth to a child within 3 years for an interview. Results: Overall, 96% of women used the ANC checkups and more than 95% had infants born in hospitals. However, the proportion of women compliant with early ANC visits (having antenatal care in the first trimester) was 22.5% lower in minority women than in Han women (61.3% vs. 83.8%, p < 0.001) with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 2.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.13–3.66) for the minority group. The proportion of children under one year old with immunizations completed in a timely manner was also lower in minority families than in Han families (80.2% vs. 86.8%, p < 0.05) with an aOR of 1.99 (95% CI = 1.16–3.40). Conclusions: Ethnic disparities remain in utilization of early ANC visits and timely immunization completion for newborns. Ethnic minority women tended to lag behind for both. Further intervention should focus on assisting minority women living in extremely rural areas to comply with the MCH policy. Culturally-sensitive policies and skills are needed, and priority should be given to improve utilization of early ANC and timely immunization completion.

Keywords: ethnic disparity; utilization; maternal and child health services; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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