Comparison Of Socio-Economic And Health Status Of Urban Residents In Chengdu

Great achievements have been made in economic and social development in China over the past two decades. The living standard of the population has been improved remarkably. However, the income gap among different population groups has been widened in the same time. In 2005, the Gini Coefficient of income distribution of Chinese citizens has reached 0.45 which exceeds the alarming line of 0.4 being recommended worldwide. At present, urban poverty has become more prominent due to the great impact resulting from the transformation of economic system in China. According to the report of Asia Development Bank, the health condition of the poor urban citizens is generally worse than the general as a result of poor income and low consumption rates; the availability of medical service for the poor urban citizens is lower than that for medium- and high-income urban inhabitants. All these problems are harmful for the overall improvements of the whole health level. The problem of urban poverty has become an urgent challenge to the development of Chinese cities. It not only relates to the social justice, but also affects the social stability. There are lots of studies on the problem of poverty, with the focus on the definition of poverty, the identificaton of poverty standard and poverty line, the causation of poverty, the living condition of poor people, and the mechanism and strategies of poverty assistance. However, few studies paid attention to the study of health condition of poor urban people and the related influencing factors. The study on health condition of poor people and the availability of medical service mainly concentrate in rural countries. With sponsorship of the project of Urban Community Health and Poverty supported...