The ecology of medical care in Beijing

• Published in: PloS one 2013-12, Vol.8 (12), p.e82446
• Main Authors: Shao, Shuang, Zhao, Feifei, Wang, Jing, Feng, Lei, Lu, Xiaoqin, Du, Juan, Yan, Yuxiang, Wang, Chao, Fu, Yinghong, Wu, Jingjing, Yu, Xinwei, Khoo, Kaykeng, Wang, Youxin, Wang, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Analysis; China; Chinese medicine; Community health care; Delivery of Health Care; Demographics; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Education; Emergency medical services; Emergency medicine; Environmental Pollution - adverse effects; Epidemiology; Female; Field study; Health care; Health care access; Health care policy; Health care reform; Health insurance industry; Health services; Hospitals; Humans; Laboratories; Male; Minority & ethnic groups; Population; Primary care; Public health; R&D; Random sampling; Regression analysis; Research & development; Science; Traditional medicine; Urban Population; Urban populations
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082446

We presented the pattern of health care consumption, and the utilization of available resources by describing the ecology of medical care in Beijing on a monthly basis and by describing the socio-demographic characteristics associated with receipt care in different settings. A cohort of 6,592 adults, 15 years of age and older were sampled to estimate the number of urban-resident adults per 1,000 who visited a medical facility at least once in a month, by the method of three-stage stratified and cluster random sampling. Separate logistic regression analyses assessed the association between those receiving care in different types of setting and their socio-demographic characteristics. On average per 1,000 adults, 295 had at least one symptom, 217 considered seeking medical care, 173 consulted a physician, 129 visited western medical practitioners, 127 visited a hospital-based outpatient clinic, 78 visited traditional Chinese medical practitioners, 43 visited a primary care physician, 35 received care in an emergency department, 15 were hospitalized. Health care seeking behaviors varied with socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, ethnicity, resident census register, marital status, education, income, and health insurance status. In term of primary care, the gate-keeping and referral roles of Community Health Centers have not yet been fully established in Beijing. This study represents a first attempt to map the medical care ecology of Beijing urban population and provides timely baseline information for health care reform in China.