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Anemia is a global public health problem, especially common among children in developing countries, which affects their physical and mental health development. However, there is currently a lack of research on the relationship between anemia and academic performance. The objective of this study was to explore the association between anemia and academic performance, and the possible factors mediating this association among Chinese children. The data for this study came from the baseline survey of the Chinese Education Panel Survey Elementary School Cohort. The cohort was conducted from September 2018 to June 2019 in 160 elementary schools, covering 20 provinces and 40 counties/districts throughout China. Paper-based questionnaires were used, completed by 4th grade students, parents, head teachers, main teachers, and principals. The data used included questionnaire responses, physical measurements, and academic performance of 17,695 students. Based on students' hemoglobin levels and school altitude data, we grouped them into anemia and nonanemia categories using WHO criteria. The anemia group had 1,154 individuals, while the nonanemia group had 16,541 individuals. An ordinary least squares regression and mediation effect analysis were conducted. Our findings found the prevalence of anemia was 6.52% among Chinese Grade 4 students. Students without anemia had a higher average test score for three academic subjects than students with anemia (P < 0.001); their test scores for Chinese, Mathematics, and English were also higher (P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed a negative association between anemia and average test scores as well as individual test scores for the three subjects. Mediation analysis found that anemia affected academic performance directly (P < 0.05), and indirectly by decreasing the cognition score (P < 0.05). The indirect effect was 19.9% of the total effect. Findings highlighted anemia affected academic performance both directly and indirectly. Nutrition-related interventions should be implemented to prevent a decrease in academic performance among students with anemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the associations between community social capital and self‐reported oral health among older adults in urban China, as well as the moderating effect of household income and the mediating role of depressive symptoms in these associations. Data were obtained from a community survey conducted in 2020 in Tianjin and Shijiazhuang City, China; the final analytical sample comprised 776 adults aged 60 years and above. To test the proposed moderation and mediation models, the data were analysed using binary logistic regression models and a path analysis, respectively. The findings showed that cognitive social capital and social participation (i.e., an indicator of structural social capital) were significantly associated with self‐reported oral health. Additionally, the results revealed that while income significantly moderated the association between cognitive social capital and self‐reported oral health, depressive symptoms significantly mediated it. The findings not only highlight the crucial role of community social capital in promoting oral health in later life among low‐income older adults but also provide important evidence for a psychosocial pathway between social capital and oral health. Given the impacts of income and depressive symptoms on the relationship between community social capital and oral health among older adults, future social policies and interventions to support oral health should target financially vulnerable older adults with poor psychological well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. As part of the efforts to build a practical, effective, and diversified medical insurance payment method, it is crucial for China to deepen the reform of ambulatory patient groups (APGs). This study was aimed to explore the mechanism and effect of this policy from three dimensions, including medical expenses, medical insurance funds, and medical services. Methods. In 2020, China's pilot reform of APG was initiated in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and OLS regression analysis were utilized to evaluate the effect of the APG reform in Jinhua. Results. The implementation of the reform can contribute significantly to establishing a comprehensive medical service governance mechanism of classified settlement and coordinated promotion. It also plays a critical role in safeguarding people's lives and health by promoting the high-level development of medical insurance systems and public hospitals, optimizing the quality of medical services, and improving the efficiency of medical insurance funds. Conclusion. Through the lens of policy evaluation, our findings can provide useful experience for the implementation of the outpatient medical insurance payment method in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese government promoted a family physician contract service system in order to establish a tiered healthcare system in June 2016, but there was little evidence to assess the policy performance. This study aimed to examine the association of family physician contract services with the healthcare utilization of community residents in urban China. A cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted from July to September, 2019, in four advanced and exemplary cities for family physician contract services in China. A multistage cluster random sampling method was adopted to recruit residents aged 18 and above, and a total of 1508 participants were included in this study. The count model and logit regression were adopted to examine the associations between family physician contract service and healthcare utilization, and the potential bias was addressed using the propensity score matching (PSM) method. There was an increase in number of monthly primary care visits and annual referrals for contracted residents compared to noncontracted residents. Participants who had contracted with a family physician were more likely to choose a primary healthcare facility after illness than those who had not. However, no significant change was found in the number of annual hospital admissions between contracted and noncontracted residents. Family physician contract services may effectively strengthen the use of primary care facilities by community residents and promote the formation of a tiered healthcare system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking care of people with dementia is stressful for informal caregivers. Respite care can provide a break for them. But it is often underused, and its acceptability can be low in China. One reason is that it fails to meet their needs. This study aimed to explore the preference of caregivers of people with dementia for respite care services. A discrete choice experiment was used. Attributes and levels of respite care were informed by a literature review and expert consultations. A fractional factorial design was used to reduce the number of choice sets. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Tianjin, China. A mixed logit model was used to compute coefficients for attributes and levels. Respite care packages differed in five attributes, which were content, provider, duration, frequency, and cost. 322 caregivers completed valid discrete choice experiment questionnaires. All five attributes were statistically significant. Two most preferred attributes were "providers" (coefficient 1.297, p < 0.001) and "frequency" (coefficient 1.169, p < 0.001). Caregivers prefer highly qualified service providers and frequent respite care. The desirable respite care for caregivers would be assistance with personal care for people with dementia which was provided by an experienced worker with attitudes of understanding and respect towards people with dementia more than 3 times per week regularly and more than 4 h every time with a lower cost. This study offered new information on Chinese dementia caregivers' preferences for respite care. Policymakers should pay attention to the frequency and quality of providers when designing respite care to improve service uptake and ultimately lighten the burden on caregivers of people with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object. In order to achieve Healthy China 2030 and an effective and sequential diagnosis and treatment system, family doctor contracting is a crucial strategy for improving graded diagnosis and treatment and achieving universal health. Through the examination of data on community members' medical expenditures, this research investigates the influence of contracting on residents' primary care consultation behavior. Methods. Using a quantitative research approach based on information about residents' medical payment patterns, this study aims to examine the effect of family doctor contracting on residents' medical costs. Therefore, a two-part model and a Heckman two-stage model are used to explore the impact of contracting on residents' medical expenses in the community hospital based on the sample of contracted and noncontracted residents and the basic information and monthly checkout data of the residents provided by a community hospital in Beijing. Conclusion. Specifically, contracting increased residents' healthcare expenditures in community hospitals by increasing the number of departments and the frequency of visits, according to the results, which indicate that contracting significantly increased residents' healthcare costs in community hospitals. The frequency and number of departments in community hospitals for two target groups—the elderly and patients with chronic diseases—have increased significantly as a result of contracting, according to subgroup analysis. This finding suggests that family physicians make it possible for the daily care and treatment of these two priority groups to be met to a greater extent at the primary level. The empirical findings of this study reveal that the family doctor contracting system has a significant impact on how primary care and hierarchical treatment patterns are established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health education is one of the most effective and efficient ways to achieve the goal of universal health coverage and the sustainable development goals. The equity of access to health services (especially services from community healthcare centers) for internal migrants is an important issue of global concern. However, due to the registration system, long-term residence plan, education level, and other determinants, it is more difficult for internal migrants to enjoy equitable health education compared with local residents. At present, there is no research on signing up with family doctors mainly from community healthcare centers among internal migrants and their impact on access to health education services. In this nationwide cross-sectional study, we used the migrant population dynamic monitoring survey (MDMS) in 2018 to assess the disparities in signing up with a family doctor and its association with health education among internal migrants in China. Among the 151,892 participants, a total of 11.26% migrants had signed up with a family doctor and 81.37% internal migrants had received health education. There was a significant association between signing up with a family doctor and health education in the univariate model (aOR = 1.113; 95% CI: 1.095, 1.132) and the multivariate model (aOR = 1.107, 95% CI: 1.089, 1.126). Meanwhile, age (aORinteraction = 0.996, 95% CI: 0.994, 0.997), migration time (aORinteraction = 0.927, 95% CI: 0.907, 0.948), and migration range (aORinteraction = 0.994, 95% CI: 0.992, 0.997) also had an impact on the relationship between signing up with family doctors and health education. Due to the health education inequalities among internal migrants in China, we need to improve health education access and utilization of internal migrants. As signed up with family doctors was significantly associated with health education among migrants in China, we recommended that the government and healthcare facilities promote health education through family doctors. The number and professional ability of family doctors should also be improved especially in areas with weak healthcare service resources in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the effect of the Wuhan lockdown on body mass index (BMI) among Wuhan residents as well as factors including food habits affected and changes in physical activity mediating the association. As a survey of the Wuhan lockdown, a random digit dialing method was used to sample residents aged 18 years and older. A computer-aided telephone interview was applied to survey 11,223 residents in Wuhan City in July 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and mediation analysis were used to analyze the influence of the Wuhan lockdown on BMI. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle characteristics, and health status differed statistically significantly between residents living in and those who left Wuhan during the lockdown (mean BMI, 23.05 ± 0.04 kg/m2 and 22.34 ± 0.06 kg/m2, respectively). The mean BMI among residents living in Wuhan was 0.42 kg/m2 higher (P < 0.001) than that of residents who left Wuhan during the lockdown, as determined by multivariate OLS regression analysis. Residents living in Wuhan during the lockdown had higher BMI among those aged 18–29 and 30–44 years (P < 0.001), with no difference among those aged 45+ years. The association between living in Wuhan and increased BMI was the strongest among residents who were overweight/obese. The mediation analysis results showed an indirect effect path with living in Wuhan (through decreased physical activity and increasing BMI) and the direct effect of living in Wuhan during the lockdown. The lack of association between living in Wuhan and increased BMI among residents aged 45+ years was due to the indirect influence of living in Wuhan affecting food habits. The findings indicated that the lockdown in Wuhan city increased residents' BMI, especially among those who were young or overweight/obese, partly because of decreased physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drifting elderly are an interprovincial floating elderly population that is mainly composed of unemployed older parents in China. They have left their usual residence and relocated to urban areas, facing challenge about social integration. As a neighborhood has played important roles in the floating population's social integration, this study was designed to investigate the influence of neighborhood-based identity and social participation on the social integration of the drifting elderly. Five rounds of data collection and analysis were conducted in a continuous crossover sequence using grounded theory. Twenty-four participants were recruited from three districts in Shanghai, China. The neighborhood was shown to play a prominent role in the drifting elderly's perceptions of social integration. Good neighborhood relations help the drifting elderly establish effective social support networks, interact with inflowing society, get in touch with more human resources, and form social relationships and networks. Neighborhood-based participants and identity were more conducive to eliminating heterogeneity and creating homogeneity for the drifting elderly. Thus, the neighborhood affects the social integration of the drifting elderly, which directly impacts their social feelings, integrations, and networks. Management of social integration among the drifting elderly should be focused on creating general opportunities for them to participate in neighborhood-based social events with a reasonable identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation by patients with chronic diseases under primary health care requires more attention to achieve effective disease management and better health outcomes. In 2016, China proposed accelerating the establishment of a system of family doctors (FDs) and strengthening doctor-patient communication to better meet residents' health service needs. This study aimed to describe perceived participation in primary health care among patients with chronic diseases in northeastern China and explore the impact of FD contract services and patient's trust on patients' perceived participation. A cross-sectional survey of 847 patients with chronic diseases in 16 primary healthcare institutions was conducted in Jilin Province, China. Among all participants, 453 patients reported signing up for FD contract services (62.93%). The perceived participation of patients with chronic diseases was at a low level (mean = 6.71 and SD = 3.35). After controlling for sociodemographic variables and health-related variables, FD contract services directly and indirectly influenced patients' perceived participation. The patient's trust was a mediator in the relationship between FD contract services and perceived participation. This study confirmed the valuation of family doctor contract services and provided a theoretical basis for the formulation of primary health service policies. Health organizations should continue to enhance the capacity of primary health services and attract more chronic disease patients to contract with FD teams, thereby enhancing doctor-patient trust and increasing patient's participation in primary health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]