Abstract

Objective

The recent population census showed China had officially become a graying society. In the meantime, China also faces a growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Since 2009, a series of policies have been implemented to enhance primary care at the community level. This study describes the elderly care services provided in the differently organized community health centers (CHCs).

Methods

It covered 13 CHCs of six cities located within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 59 health administrators, CHC managers, and CHC doctors regarding elderly care.

Results

The study found that accessibility of healthcare for elders has been improved due to the development of health insurance schemes as well as preferential policy to encourage the CHC utilization by the elderly. All the CHCs provide health examinations and chronic disease management to the permanent elderly within their catchment district. However, some preventative care such as fall prevention, immunization and mental health management are not provided.

Conclusion

Key barriers include low capacity of health service providers in the CHCs, and a lack of government investment in CHCs. Our report provides an empirical evidence for the health care reform in China.

Details

Title
Elderly healthcare service at the community health centers in the Pearl River Delta region, China
Author
Yang, Nan 1 ; Wei, Xiaolin 1 ; Li, Haitao 1 ; Zhang, Zhenzhen 1 ; Rodas, Jamie 1 ; Wong, Samuel YS 1 ; Martin CS Wong 1 ; Gao, Yang 1 ; Wang, Jiaji 2 ; Li, Donald KT 3 ; Tang, Jinling 1 ; Griffiths, Sian 1 

 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China 
 School of public health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China 
 Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, Hong Kong SAR, China 
Pages
30-36
Section
Original Research
Publication year
2013
Publication date
Mar 2013
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
ISSN
23056983
e-ISSN
20098774
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2552782662
Copyright
© 2013 2013 Family Medicine and Community Health This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ . Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.