Zhang Xinyu, Ren Jianping, Sun Liqi, Liu Chaojie
School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China.
School of Humanities and Health Management, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121001, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Jul 11;2022:7512581. doi: 10.1155/2022/7512581. eCollection 2022.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an integral part of the mainstream health care system in China. Public community health services are required by the government to deliver TCM services. This study aimed to assess patient perceived quality of TCM care in community health services.
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 471 TCM users in four community health centers in Hangzhou. Respondents were asked to rate their experiences on a Likert scale about tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy of the TCM services they received. Linear regression models were established to determine the sociodemographic and services factors associated with the ratings.
Average ratings on the five aspects of the TCM care ranged from 78 to 88 out of a possible 100, with assurance attracting the highest and empathy attracting the lowest score. Overall, higher perceived quality of TCM care (except for assurance) was associated with a choice of TCM in preference to western medicine. Those who reported higher cost (≥100 yuan) of TCM care rated higher on responsiveness and empathy of the care. But higher frequency of visits to community TCM services was associated with lower ratings on reliability, assurance and empathy. Those who received two or more TCM modalities also perceived lower tangible care. In addition, higher ratings on reliability and responsiveness were found in women. The respondents with a university qualification gave higher ratings on reliability and responsiveness; by contrast, those with a highest education of senior high school rated lower on assurance and empathy. Lower perceived tangibility and assurance was also associated with rural residency. Compared with those working in the public sector, the respondents from the retail and services sector gave a higher rating on assurance but a lower rating on empathy.
Overall, the TCM users perceived high quality of TCM care in community health services in Hangzhou. However, there is a need to further improve TCM care from all quality perspectives in order to attract and maintain consumer trust in TCM.
中医是中国主流医疗体系的重要组成部分。政府要求公共社区卫生服务机构提供中医服务。本研究旨在评估社区卫生服务中患者对中医护理的感知质量。
对杭州四个社区卫生中心的471名中医使用者进行了横断面问卷调查。要求受访者根据李克特量表对他们所接受的中医服务在有形性、可靠性、响应性、保证性和移情性方面的体验进行评分。建立线性回归模型以确定与评分相关的社会人口统计学和服务因素。
中医护理五个方面的平均评分在满分100分中从78分到88分不等,保证性得分最高,移情性得分最低。总体而言,较高的中医护理感知质量(保证性除外)与选择中医而非西医有关。那些报告中医护理费用较高(≥100元)的人在护理的响应性和移情性方面评分较高。但更频繁地就诊于社区中医服务与在可靠性、保证性和移情性方面较低的评分相关。接受两种或更多中医治疗方式的人也感觉有形护理较低。此外,女性在可靠性和响应性方面的评分较高。具有大学学历的受访者在可靠性和响应性方面评分较高;相比之下,最高学历为高中的受访者在保证性和移情性方面评分较低。较低的有形性和保证性感知也与农村居民身份有关。与在公共部门工作的人相比,零售和服务部门的受访者在保证性方面评分较高,但在移情性方面评分较低。
总体而言,杭州社区卫生服务中的中医使用者认为中医护理质量较高。然而,有必要从所有质量角度进一步改善中医护理,以吸引和维持消费者对中医的信任。