Determinants of Initial Utilization of Community Healthcare Services among Patients with Major Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases in South China

Huajie Yang, Xiang Huang, Zhiheng Zhou, Harry H X Wang, Xinyue Tong, Zhihong Wang, Jiaji Wang and Zuxun Lu

PLOS ONE, 2014, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Although expected to act as gate-keeping primary care providers, as community health service (CHS) facilities are severely under-utilized; Chinese people in both rural and urban areas used predominantly higher-tier facilities for primary care purpose, with significant financial and outcome consequences. This study intends to explore the determinants of initial utilization of CHS among patients with major non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) in order to understand the care-seeking behavior among urban and rural residents in South China. Methods: A multi-stage cluster random sampling methodology was adopted to create a sample of 19,466 adults with NCDs from 7,970 urban households and 32,035 adults with NCDs from 3,860 rural households in Guangdong, China. Interviews and physical examinations were conducted in 2010 to collect data on patient characteristics, medical conditions, and awareness and utilization of healthcare. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed to study utilization patterns and the factors associated with the patterns. Results: Prevalence of major NCDs in urban areas was significantly higher than that in rural areas (12.55% vs. 8.70%; p

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0116051

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116051

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