Researchers’ Work from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Focuses on Chronic Disease (Forgone care among middle aged and elderly with chronic…

Health & Medicine Week

Researchers' Work from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Focuses on Chronic Disease (Forgone care among middle aged and elderly with chronic diseases in China: evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Baseline Survey)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Current study results on Disease Attributes - Chronic Disease have been published. According to news reporting originating from Nanjing, People's Republic of China, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "In general, published studies analyse healthcare utilisation, rather than foregone care, among different population groups. The assessment of forgone care as an aspect of healthcare system performance is important because it indicates the gap between perceived need and actual utilisation of healthcare services."

Financial support for this research came from Education Department of Jiangsu Province (see also Disease Attributes - Chronic Disease).

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, "This study focused on a specific vulnerable group, middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases, and evaluated the prevalence of foregone care and associated factors among this population in China. Data were obtained from a nationally representative household survey of middle-aged and elderly individuals ( greater than or equal to45 years), the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which was conducted by the National School of Development of Peking University in 2013. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse sample characteristics and the prevalence of foregone care. Andersen's healthcare utilisation and binary logistic models were used to evaluate the determinants of foregone care among middle-aged and elderly individuals with chronic diseases. The prevalence of foregone outpatient and inpatient care among middle-aged and elderly people was 10.21% and 6.84%, respectively, whereas the prevalence of foregone care for physical examinations was relatively high (57.88%). Predisposing factors, including age, marital status, employment, education and family size, significantly affected foregone care in this population. Regarding enabling factors, individuals in the highest income group reported less foregone inpatient care or physical examinations compared with those in the lowest income group. Social healthcare insurance could significantly reduce foregone care in outpatient and inpatient situations; however, these schemes (except for urban employee medical insurance) did not appear to have a significant impact on foregone care involving physical examinations."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "In China, policy-makers may need to further adjust healthcare policies, such as health insurance schemes, and improve the hierarchical medical system, to promote reduction in foregone care and effective utilisation of health services."

For more information on this research see: Forgone care among middle aged and elderly with chronic diseases in China: evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Baseline Survey. Bmj Open, 2018;8(3):e019901. (BMJ Publishing Group - group.bmj.com/; Bmj Open - bmjopen.bmj.com/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting X. Li, School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China. Additional authors for this research include M. Chen, Z. Wang and L. Si.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019901. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Nanjing, Chronic Disease, Disease Attributes, Health and Medicine, People's Republic of China.