Department of Sociology, Humanities and Social Sciences College, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
School of Nursing, Nipissing University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Aust J Rural Health. 2020 Jun;28(3):271-280. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12635. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
China faces issues associated with urban-rural health inequities. This study explores functions of village health centres through a community perspective. Four research questions were asked, including: (a) What are the functions of village health centres? (b) How is medication administered in village health centres? (c) What are the roles of village doctors? (d) What are the evaluation mechanisms of village health centres?
In-depth interviews and field observations are used in the study.
Nine rural villages in two provinces in Northern and Central China.
A total of 93 people across were interviewed.
Village health centres are primarily responsible for providing public health services and essential medical care. In addition, village health centres also function as a social venue of a rural community. A centralised medication scheme augments these processes through supplying health centres with affordable medications. Village doctors are expected to take the needs and preferences of their patients into consideration when creating care plans, and must establish trusting rapport with patients by upholding their unique values. This results in care that is convenient, accessible, and person-centred. Village health centres are evaluated through a 2-step process which has direct effects on the amount of government subsidy received.
Village health centres have multi-faceted functions in rural Chinese communities. Overall, the benefits of village health centres include convenient and timely access to care for rural residents. Improvements can be made in certain areas, such as streamlining provincial medication schemes and adopting a strengths-based model of evaluation.
中国面临城乡卫生不公平问题。本研究从社区角度探讨了村卫生中心的功能。提出了四个研究问题，包括：(a)村卫生中心的功能是什么？(b)村卫生中心如何给药？(c)乡村医生的角色是什么？(d)村卫生中心的评价机制是什么？
本研究采用深入访谈和现场观察。
中国北方和中部两个省的 9 个农村村庄。
共有 93 人接受了采访。
村卫生中心主要负责提供公共卫生服务和基本医疗服务。此外，村卫生中心还是农村社区的一个社交场所。集中配药制度通过向卫生中心提供负担得起的药物来增强这些功能。村医在制定护理计划时，应考虑患者的需求和偏好，并通过坚持自己的独特价值观与患者建立信任关系。这导致了方便、可及和以患者为中心的护理。村卫生中心通过两步评估过程进行评估，这直接影响到政府补贴的数额。
村卫生中心在农村中国社区具有多方面的功能。总的来说，村卫生中心为农村居民提供了方便和及时的医疗服务。可以在某些方面进行改进，例如简化省级配药制度和采用基于优势的评估模式。
