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Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage

Worldwide countries are recognising the need for and significance of universal health coverage (UHC); however, health inequality continues to persist. This study evaluates the status and equity of residents’ demand for and utilisation of health services and expenditure by considering the three compo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Xu, Jianqiang, Zheng, Juan, Xu, Lingzhong, Wu, Hongtao
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7826610/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33445637
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020593
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author Xu, Jianqiang
Zheng, Juan
Xu, Lingzhong
Wu, Hongtao
author_facet Xu, Jianqiang
Zheng, Juan
Xu, Lingzhong
Wu, Hongtao
author_sort Xu, Jianqiang
collection PubMed
description Worldwide countries are recognising the need for and significance of universal health coverage (UHC); however, health inequality continues to persist. This study evaluates the status and equity of residents’ demand for and utilisation of health services and expenditure by considering the three components of universal health coverage, urban-rural differences, and different income groups. Sample data from China’s Fifth Health Service Survey were analysed and the ‘five levels of income classification’ were used to classify people into income groups. This study used descriptive analysis and concentration index and concentration curve for equity evaluation. Statistically significant differences were found in the demand and utilisation of health services between urban and rural residents. Rural residents’ demand and utilisation of health services decreased with an increase in income and their health expenditure was higher than that of urban residents. Compared with middle- and high-income rural residents, middle- and lower-income rural residents faced higher hospitalisation expenses; and, compared with urban residents, equity in rural residents’ demand and utilisation of health services, and annual health and hospitalisation expenditures, were poorer. Thus, equity of health service utilisation and expenditure for urban and rural residents with different incomes remain problematic, requiring improved access and health policies.
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spelling pubmed-78266102021-01-25 Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage Xu, Jianqiang Zheng, Juan Xu, Lingzhong Wu, Hongtao Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Worldwide countries are recognising the need for and significance of universal health coverage (UHC); however, health inequality continues to persist. This study evaluates the status and equity of residents’ demand for and utilisation of health services and expenditure by considering the three components of universal health coverage, urban-rural differences, and different income groups. Sample data from China’s Fifth Health Service Survey were analysed and the ‘five levels of income classification’ were used to classify people into income groups. This study used descriptive analysis and concentration index and concentration curve for equity evaluation. Statistically significant differences were found in the demand and utilisation of health services between urban and rural residents. Rural residents’ demand and utilisation of health services decreased with an increase in income and their health expenditure was higher than that of urban residents. Compared with middle- and high-income rural residents, middle- and lower-income rural residents faced higher hospitalisation expenses; and, compared with urban residents, equity in rural residents’ demand and utilisation of health services, and annual health and hospitalisation expenditures, were poorer. Thus, equity of health service utilisation and expenditure for urban and rural residents with different incomes remain problematic, requiring improved access and health policies. MDPI 2021-01-12 2021-01 /pmc/articles/PMC7826610/ /pubmed/33445637 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020593 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Xu, Jianqiang
Zheng, Juan
Xu, Lingzhong
Wu, Hongtao
Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title_full Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title_fullStr Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title_full_unstemmed Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title_short Equity of Health Services Utilisation and Expenditure among Urban and Rural Residents under Universal Health Coverage
title_sort equity of health services utilisation and expenditure among urban and rural residents under universal health coverage
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7826610/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33445637
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020593
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