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Gao Q, Zhang B, Zhou Q, Lei C, Wei X, Shi Y. The impact of provider-patient communication skills on primary healthcare quality and patient satisfaction in rural China: insights from a standardized patient study. BMC Health Serv Res 2024; 24:579. [PMID: 38702670 PMCID: PMC11069204 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-11020-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In middle-income countries, poor physician-patient communication remains a recognized barrier to enhancing healthcare quality and patient satisfaction. This study investigates the influence of provider-patient communication skills on healthcare quality and patient satisfaction in the rural primary healthcare setting in China. METHODS Data were collected from 504 interactions across 348 rural primary healthcare facilities spanning 21 counties in three provinces. Using the Standardized Patient method, this study measured physician-patient communication behaviors, healthcare quality, and patient satisfaction. Communication skills were assessed using the SEGUE questionnaire framework. Multivariate linear regression models and multivariate logistic regression models, accounting for fixed effects, were employed to evaluate the impact of physicians' communication skills on healthcare quality and patient satisfaction. RESULTS The findings indicated generally low provider-patient communication skills, with an average total score of 12.2 ± 2.8 (out of 24). Multivariate regression models, which accounted for physicians' knowledge and other factors, demonstrated positive associations between physicians' communication skills and healthcare quality, as well as patient satisfaction (P < 0.05). Heterogeneity analysis revealed stronger correlations among primary physicians with lower levels of clinical knowledge or more frequent training. CONCLUSION This study emphasizes the importance of prioritizing provider-patient communication skills to enhance healthcare quality and patient satisfaction in rural Chinese primary care settings. It recommends that the Chinese government prioritize the enhancement of provider-patient communication skills to improve healthcare quality and patient satisfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiufeng Gao
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- School of Economics and Finance, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Qian Zhou
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China
| | - Cuiyao Lei
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China
| | - Xiaofei Wei
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China
| | - Yaojiang Shi
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
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Fu J, Wang H, Na R, Jisaihan A, Wang Z, Ohno Y. A novel "five-in-one" comprehensive medical care framework for rehabilitation and nursing. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING : MBE 2023; 20:5004-5023. [PMID: 36896533 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
With the evolution of society, the world has entered a moderate stage of aging. Not surprisingly, the aging problem in the world is getting more intense, resulting in the increasing demand for higher-quality and well-organized medical and elderly care services. To cope with that, many researchers have dedicated themselves to advancing the medical care system based on data or platforms. However, they have ignored the life cycle, health service and management and the inevitable shift of living scenarios for the elderly. Therefore, the study aims to improve health conditions and enhance senior citizens' life quality and happiness index. In this paper, we build a unified body for people in their old age, bridging the disconnection between medical care and elderly care and constructing the "five-in-one" comprehensive medical care framework. It should be mentioned that the system takes the human life cycle as its axis, relies on the supply side and supply chain management, integrates medicine, industry, literature and science as methods, and takes health service management as a requirement. Furthermore, a case study on upper limb rehabilitation is elaborated along the "five-in-one" comprehensive medical care framework to confirm the effectiveness of the novel system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Fu
- Department of Mathematical Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan
| | - Haiyan Wang
- Ma'anshan University, Ma'anshan 243000, China
| | - Risu Na
- Department of Mathematical Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan
- Shanghai Jian Qiao University, Shanhai 201315, China
| | - A Jisaihan
- Department of Mathematical Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan
| | - Zhixiong Wang
- Department of Mathematical Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan
- Ma'anshan University, Ma'anshan 243000, China
| | - Yuko Ohno
- Department of Mathematical Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 5650871, Japan
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Fang Y, Jiang S, Jiang P, Zhou H, Yang M. Are Rural Primary Care Providers Able to Competently Manage Common Illnesses? A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural Sichuan, Western China. Healthcare (Basel) 2022; 10:healthcare10091750. [PMID: 36141362 PMCID: PMC9498850 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10091750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Strengthening primary care is a key focus of the latest healthcare reforms in China. However, many challenges, including the workforce competence, still exist. This study aimed to evaluate the common disease management competency of rural primary care providers in Sichuan Province, western China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 9 township health centers and 86 village clinics in 3 counties. Diarrhea and respiratory infection were selected as the evaluation cases. General partitioners were assessed through their abilities to (1) take history; (2) make diagnoses; (3) propose treatment; and (4) deal with clinical cases. Results: In total, 362 healthcare workers were surveyed, and 130 general practitioners were enrolled into our study. On average, rural primary care providers could only answer 46.4% of questions absolutely correctly, with 29.7% partly correctly and 23.8% incorrectly. Conclusion: We suggest strengthening training to improve rural primary care providers’ competencies, especially their capacities of history taking. Policy action is also needed to address regional disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yian Fang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shaohua Jiang
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 833054, China
| | - Pei Jiang
- School of Public Health, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637100, China
| | - Huan Zhou
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Min Yang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
- Faculty of Health, Design and Art, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 3122, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Huang J, Du K, Guan H, Ding Y, Zhang Y, Wang D, Wang H. The Role of Village Doctors in Residents' Uptake of Eye Screening: Evidence from Ageing Residents in Rural China. Healthcare (Basel) 2022; 10:healthcare10071197. [PMID: 35885723 PMCID: PMC9317018 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10071197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of formal eye screening is the main reason for insufficient eye care utilization in rural China. Cataract, in particular, is increasingly prevalent with the aging population, but the treatment rate is relatively low. Village doctors are the most accessible health care resource for rural residents, receiving few empirical investigations into their role in eye care. This study aims to assess the role of village doctors in residents’ uptake of eye screening (vision and cataract screening), the first step of cataract treatment. Data come from a community-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in 35 villages of a county of the Gansu Province, Northwestern China, in 2020. Among 1010 residents aged ≥ 50 and 35 village doctors, the multivariate logistic regression shows that village doctors’ age, time spent on public health service, and service population were positively associated with residents’ uptake of vision and cataract screening. Village doctors were capable of playing an active role in primary eye health services due to their richer knowledge about cataracts than residents (accuracy rate 86.75% vs. 63.50%, p < 0.001), but less than half of them were willing to undertake eye screening. This study highlights the positive role of village doctors in aging residents’ eye screening and the potential role in improving the uptake of eye screening by offering health education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juerong Huang
- College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China;
| | - Kang Du
- College of Economics, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi’an 710100, China;
| | - Hongyu Guan
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China; (Y.D.); (Y.Z.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-186-9188-9621
| | - Yuxiu Ding
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China; (Y.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yunyun Zhang
- Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China; (Y.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Decai Wang
- Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China;
| | - Huan Wang
- Center on China’s Economy and Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
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Rao S, Xue H, Teuwen DE, Shi H, Yi H. Measurements of quality of village-level care and patients' healthcare-seeking behaviors in rural China. BMC Public Health 2021; 21:1873. [PMID: 34657604 PMCID: PMC8520638 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11946-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Although the progress in global health initiatives has improved the availability of primary health care (PHC), unqualified healthcare remains a serious challenge in low- and middle-income countries, where PHC is often underutilized. This study examines factors associated with patients’ healthcare-seeking behaviors in rural Chin—seeking healthcare at village-level PHC providers, at higher-level health facilities, self-medicating, and refraining from seeking medical help. We focus on provider-side factors, including (1) the unobservable quality indicator, (2) the observable quality indicator, and (3) the observable signal indicator. Methods We analyzed 1578 episodes of healthcare-seeking behaviors of patients with diarrhea or cough/runny nose symptom from surveys conducted in July 2017 and January 2018 in 114 villages of the Yunnan province. We investigated the correlation between quality-related factors with patients’ healthcare-seeking behaviors by multinomial logit regression. Results We found that rural patients were insensitive to the unobservable quality of healthcare providers, as measured by standardized clinical vignettes, which might be attributable to the credence nature of PHC. The observable quality indicator, whether the clinician has received full-time junior college formal medical education, was associated with patients’ healthcare choices. Patients, however, were more likely to select healthcare based on the observable signal indicator, which was measured by the availability of medicines. Additionally, the observable signal indicator had no significant association with two quality indicators. Notably, socioeconomically-disadvantaged patients relied more on the village-level PHC, which emphasized the role of PHC in promoting the welfare of rural populations. Conclusions Our study found an inconsistency between objective quality of healthcare provided by providers and subjective quality perceived by patients. Patients could not identify the actual quality of PHC precisely, while they were more likely to make decisions based on the observable signal indicator. Therefore, the quality of PHC should be more observable to patients. This study not only supplements the literature on healthcare-seeking choices by examining four types of behaviors simultaneously but also clarifies rural patients’ perceptions of the quality of PHC for policy decision-making on increasing the utilization of PHC and improving the medical welfare of the vulnerable. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11946-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihang Rao
- China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Room 408B, Wangkezhen Building, No. 5, Yiheyuan Road, Haidian, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Hao Xue
- Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, California, USA
| | - Dirk E Teuwen
- Medical Sustainability, UCB, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Haonan Shi
- Business Development Center, Red Cross Society of China, Beijing, China
| | - Hongmei Yi
- China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Room 408B, Wangkezhen Building, No. 5, Yiheyuan Road, Haidian, Beijing, 100871, China.
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Daniels B. Primary care providers are, fundamentally, risk managers - And this is a challenge for health policy. THE LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH. WESTERN PACIFIC 2020; 3:100037. [PMID: 34327385 PMCID: PMC8315607 DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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