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Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis
INTRODUCTION: China is facing a daunting challenge to health equity in the context of rapid economic development. This study adds to the literature by examining equity in the distribution of high-technology medical equipment, such as CT and MRI, in China. METHODS: A panel analysis was conducted with...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
BioMed Central
2013
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3682935/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23742755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-39 |
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author | He, Da Yu, Hao Chen, Yingyao |
author_facet | He, Da Yu, Hao Chen, Yingyao |
author_sort | He, Da |
collection | PubMed |
description | INTRODUCTION: China is facing a daunting challenge to health equity in the context of rapid economic development. This study adds to the literature by examining equity in the distribution of high-technology medical equipment, such as CT and MRI, in China. METHODS: A panel analysis was conducted with information about four study sites in 2006 and 2009. The four provincial-level study sites included Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, and Hunan, representing different geographical, economic, and medical technology levels in China. A random sample of 71 hospitals was selected from the four sites. Data were collected through questionnaire surveys. Equity status was assessed in terms of CT and MRI numbers, characteristics of machine, and financing sources. The assessment was conducted at multiple levels, including international, provincial, city, and hospital level. In addition to comparison among the study sites, the sample was compared with OECD countries in CT and MRI distributions. RESULTS: China had lower numbers of CTs and MRIs per million population in 2009 than most of the selected OECD countries while the increases in its CT and MRI numbers from 2006 to 2009 were higher than most of the OECD countries. The equity status of CT distribution remained at low inequality level in both 2006 and 2009 while the equity status of MRI distribution improved from high inequality in 2006 to moderate inequality in 2009. Despite the equity improvement, the distributions of CTs and MRIs were significantly positively correlated with economic development level across all cities in the four study sites in either 2006 or 2009. Our analysis also revealed that Shanghai, the study site with the highest level of economic development, had more advanced CT and MRI machine, more imported CTs and MRIs, and higher government subsidies on these two types of equipment. CONCLUSIONS: The number of CTs and MRIs increased considerably in China from 2006 to 2009. The equity status of CTs was better than that of MRIs although the equity status in MRI distribution got improved from 2006 to 2009. Still considerable inequality exists in terms of characteristics and financing of CTs and MRIs. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3682935 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2013 |
publisher | BioMed Central |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-36829352013-06-15 Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis He, Da Yu, Hao Chen, Yingyao Int J Equity Health Research INTRODUCTION: China is facing a daunting challenge to health equity in the context of rapid economic development. This study adds to the literature by examining equity in the distribution of high-technology medical equipment, such as CT and MRI, in China. METHODS: A panel analysis was conducted with information about four study sites in 2006 and 2009. The four provincial-level study sites included Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, and Hunan, representing different geographical, economic, and medical technology levels in China. A random sample of 71 hospitals was selected from the four sites. Data were collected through questionnaire surveys. Equity status was assessed in terms of CT and MRI numbers, characteristics of machine, and financing sources. The assessment was conducted at multiple levels, including international, provincial, city, and hospital level. In addition to comparison among the study sites, the sample was compared with OECD countries in CT and MRI distributions. RESULTS: China had lower numbers of CTs and MRIs per million population in 2009 than most of the selected OECD countries while the increases in its CT and MRI numbers from 2006 to 2009 were higher than most of the OECD countries. The equity status of CT distribution remained at low inequality level in both 2006 and 2009 while the equity status of MRI distribution improved from high inequality in 2006 to moderate inequality in 2009. Despite the equity improvement, the distributions of CTs and MRIs were significantly positively correlated with economic development level across all cities in the four study sites in either 2006 or 2009. Our analysis also revealed that Shanghai, the study site with the highest level of economic development, had more advanced CT and MRI machine, more imported CTs and MRIs, and higher government subsidies on these two types of equipment. CONCLUSIONS: The number of CTs and MRIs increased considerably in China from 2006 to 2009. The equity status of CTs was better than that of MRIs although the equity status in MRI distribution got improved from 2006 to 2009. Still considerable inequality exists in terms of characteristics and financing of CTs and MRIs. BioMed Central 2013-06-06 /pmc/articles/PMC3682935/ /pubmed/23742755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-39 Text en Copyright © 2013 He et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Research He, Da Yu, Hao Chen, Yingyao Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title | Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title_full | Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title_fullStr | Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title_full_unstemmed | Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title_short | Equity in the distribution of CT and MRI in China: a panel analysis |
title_sort | equity in the distribution of ct and mri in china: a panel analysis |
topic | Research |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3682935/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23742755 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-39 |
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