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International Journal for Equity in Health
Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research

National equity of health resource allocation in China: data from 2009 to 2013

Authors: Wen Liu, Ying Liu, Peter Twum, Shixue Li

Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

The inequitable allocation of health resources is a worldwide problem, and it is also one of the obstacles facing for health services utilization in China. A new round of health care reform which contains the important aspect of improving the equity in health resource allocation was released by Chinese government in 2009. The aim of this study is to understand the changes of equity in health resource allocation from 2009 to 2013, and make a further inquiry of the main factors which influence the equity conditions in China.

Methods

Data resources are the China Health Statistics Yearbook (2014) and the China Statistical Yearbook (2014). Four indicators were chosen to measure the trends in equity of health resource allocation. Data were disaggregated by three geographical regions: west, central, and east. Theil index was used to calculate the degree of unfairness.

Results

The total amount of health care resources in China had been increasing in recent years. However, the per 10, 000 km2 number of health resources showed a huge gap in different regions, and per 10, 000 capita health resources ownership showed a relatively small disparities at the same time. The index of health resources showed an overall downward trend, in which health financial investment the most unfair from 2009 to 2012 and the number of health institutions the most unfair in 2013. The equity of health resources allocation in eastern regions was the worst except for the aspect of health technical personnel allocation. The regional contribution rates were lower than that of the inter-regional contribution rates which were all beyond 60 %.

Conclusion

The equity of health resource allocation improved gradually from 2009 to 2013. However, the internal differences within the eastern region still have a huge impact on the overall equity in health resource allocation. The tough issues of inequitable in health resource allocation should be resolved by comprehensive measures from a multidisciplinary perspective.
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Metadata
Title
National equity of health resource allocation in China: data from 2009 to 2013
Authors
Wen Liu
Ying Liu
Peter Twum
Shixue Li
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
International Journal for Equity in Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1475-9276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0357-1

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