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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

Geographic distribution of hospital beds throughout China: a county-level econometric analysis

Authors: Jay Pan, David Shallcross

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

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Abstract

Background

Geographical distribution of healthcare resources is an important dimension of healthcare access. Little work has been published on healthcare resource allocation patterns in China, despite public equity concerns.

Methods

Using national data from 2043 counties, this paper investigates the geographic distribution of hospital beds at the county level in China. We performed Gini coefficient analysis to measure inequalities and ordinary least squares regression with fixed provincial effects and additional spatial specifications to assess key determinants.

Results

We found that provinces in west China have the least equitable resource distribution. We also found that the distribution of hospital beds is highly spatially clustered. Finally, we found that both county-level savings and government revenue show a strong positive relationship with county level hospital bed density.

Conclusions

We argue for more widespread use of disaggregated, geographical data in health policy-making in China to support the rational allocation of healthcare resources, thus promoting efficiency and equity.
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Metadata
Title
Geographic distribution of hospital beds throughout China: a county-level econometric analysis
Authors
Jay Pan
David Shallcross
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/s12939-016-0467-9

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