New Publication: Universal health coverage in China part 1: progress and gaps

Abstract Over the past 2 decades, China has made remarkable progress in health-care service coverage, especially in the areas of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, and service capacity and access. In these areas, coverage is comparable to those in high-income countries. Inequalities of service coverage in these areas have been reduced. However, there remain large gaps in the service coverage of chronic diseases. There has been little progress…

New Publication: Price dispersion in an online health marketplace: Evidence from telemedicine services in China

Abstract Online health care marketplaces have emerged with the adoption of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its readily available information on price and quality, we document substantial price dispersion for telemedicine services in China’s internet health market. We further examine the sources of such price variation: observable characteristics of physicians, hospitals, and local markets explain slightly over half of this variation. The un-explained portion is greater for physician specialties where…

New Publication: The ivory tower in China’s speculative urbanism: instrumentalizing the university-healthcare nexus

Abstract This research investigates how the public university engages in China’s speculative urbanism by establishing and operationalizing the university-healthcare nexus through both real estate and healthcare businesses. Drawing on open company data and expert interviews, the organizational structure of public and private actors in the university-healthcare nexus of the Peking University Healthcare City was unfold as a case study. Findings reveal that the university-healthcare nexus was established by Peking University…

New Publication: Factors influencing engagement in online dual practice by public hospital doctors in three large cities: A mixed-methods study in China

Summary Background In the digital age, a rising number of public sector doctors are providing private telemedicine and telehealth services on online health care platforms. This novel practice pattern – termed online dual practice – may profoundly impact health system performance in both developed and developing countries. This study aims to understand the factors influencing doctors’ engagement in online dual practice. Methods Using a mixed-methods design, this study concurrently collects…

China Launches Anti-Corruption Campaign Upon Healthcare Sector

An article by The Wall Street Journal, “中国降低医疗成本的独特行动:大规模医药反腐 [China’s Unique Action to Reduce Medical Costs: Large-Scale Pharmaceutical Anti-Corruption]” reported on China’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched across hospitals and medical institutions since July 2023. Cracking down on acts of medical corruption—for example, doctors and hospital managers taking monetary bribes from patients and drug manufacturers—is a potential way to aid reduction of medical costs. Dr. Winnie Yip, Professor of Global Health Policy…

Preparing for China’s Aging Population

In an interview with Inside China, a podcast by the South Morning China Post, Professor Winnie Yip discusses how the Chinese government is preparing to provide for and sustain its aging population in the near future. Due to China’s increasing life expectancy, residual effects of the former one-child policy, and other factors—a large demographic shift is predicted to result in 400 million retirees living in China by 2035. This presents impending…

New Publication: Escaping from the identity enclave: Social inclusion events and floating migrants’ settlement intention in China

Abstract China has undergone unprecedented waves of internal migration over the past decades. However, the discriminatory hukou system puts migrants into an ‘identity enclave’ which challenges migrants’ perception of place and identity, thus reducing their settlement intention. In the meantime, existing literature has also highlighted the positive roles of social bonds and social networks in migrants’ decision to stay. Based on the theories of social capital, this research explores the…

Field Report: Chronic disease management and multi-sector solutions for health-induced poverty are working, but China’s big hospitals are holding back primary care

Dinda Elliott, Executive Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, shares insights from Dr. Winnie Yip, Faculty Director of the Harvard China Health Partnership, regarding China’s rural healthcare improvements and health-related poverty elimination. These observations were drawn from Dr. Yip’s field visit to rural villages in Yunnan, China this spring. Read more in the new field report here.

New Publication: Estimating causal effects of physical disability and number of comorbid chronic diseases on risk of depressive symptoms in an elderly Chinese population: a machine learning analysis of cross-sectional baseline data from the China longitudinal ageing social survey

Summary Objective This study aimed to explore the causal effects of physical disability and number of comorbid chronic diseases on depressive symptoms in an elderly Chinese population. Methods Cross-sectional, baseline data were obtained from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey, a stratified, multistage, probabilistic sampling survey conducted in 2014 that covers 28 of 31 provincial areas in China. 7496 subjects who were 60 years of age or older and who…

New Publication: Understanding Impacts of Online Dual Practice on Health System Performance: A Qualitative Study in China

Abstract The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the global development of online healthcare platforms. An increasing number of public hospital doctors are providing online services on private third-party healthcare platforms, creating a new form of dual practice—online dual practice. To explore the impacts of online dual practice on health system performance as well as potential policy responses, we undertook a qualitative approach that uses in-depth interviews and thematic…