Study On Equity In Rural Health Service In The Experimental Region Of New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme

Objective: To explore the situation of health service in the experimental region of new rural cooperative medical scheme in Anhui province for improving health service equity of rural residents.Methods: One experimental county of new rural cooperative medical scheme was selected by the typical sampling method while another non-experimental county as the control randomly. Then the township health centers were selected by cluster random sampling method and the administrative villages were selected by simple random sampling method. And then the villagers were surveyed with the questionnaire. Based on the object of health service, questionnaire was performed on a experimental county of new rural cooperative medical scheme and contrasting region. A few quantitative and demonstrative methods were used to analyze the situation and the equity of health service among variant hierarchy and economic condition residents, which include income quintiles groups, stratum analytical method, Gini coefficient and concentration index.Results: Though the contradiction between high demand and low utilization of health service was relieved in Yuexi county, the health condition of the residents have improved limitedly. Low income group residents had a high demand of health service. Gender and the consciousness of health maintenance were the main factors for the treatment will of the sick. Among the total health service expenditure, the middle and low income groups took on the great mass of the proportion. The cost for each outpatient was higher in county medical establishments or the above relative to village and township health centers. As far as the hospitalization expenses was concerned, high age groups and extending days in hospital were the main reasons of higher charge. The compensation of new rural cooperative medical scheme hadn't shortened the income gap in different group patients for hospitalization. On the contrary, the gap between the rich and the poor had been widened.Conclusion: At present, there are insufficiencies in the health security system in the experimental region, it is still a good pathway to carry out new rural cooperative medical scheme for rural residents health service. In order to provide an impartial health...