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Background: Few studies about gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among medical professionals have been carried out in China. So the objectives of this study were to examine whether and to what extent gender differences existed in job quality and job satisfaction of doctors in rural western China.Methods: From 2009 to 2011, a total of 1472 doctors from 103 selected county-level health care facilities in rural western China were recruited into the study. Information about the doctors' demographic characteristics, job quality, and job satisfaction was collected through a designed questionnaire. Besides examining gender differences in single dimensions of job quality and job satisfaction, principal component analysis was used to construct a composite job quality index to measure the differences in the comprehensive job quality, and exploratory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the differences in the overall job satisfaction. Chi-square test was used to calculate differences between proportions, and t-test was used to compare differences between means.Results: Among the doctors, there were 705 males and 767 females (ratio 1:1.09). Male doctors had significantly higher monthly salaries, longer working hours, more times of night shifts per month, longer continuous working hours, and longer years of service at current facilities, and marginally significantly higher hourly wage and longer years of service in current professions. However, female doctors showed greater overall job qualities. Significant and marginally significant gender differences were only found in satisfaction with remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion and working environment. But female showed greater satisfaction in the overall job satisfaction and the factor including sub-aspects of working environment, remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion, utilization of subjective initiative, and sense of achievement.Conclusions: Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction did exist among doctors in rural western China. The participating female doctors were shown to have better job quality and greater job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The National Essential Medicine System (NEMS) is a new policy launched by the Chinese government in 2009. The effects of its introduction have been widely investigated. However, little research has focused on individual patients' perspectives. The purpose of this study was to examine current understanding and opinions of China's NEMS of primary care providers (PCPs) and patients.Methods: Providers (n = 134) and patients (n = 175) were examined based on self-completed questionnaire surveys conducted in 16 primary healthcare centers in Ningxia, northwestern China. Questions addressed the topics of: participants' socio-demographic characteristics; awareness of NEMS policies; perceptions of NEMS-related changes; satisfactions with NEMS.Results: The patients had a low awareness of NEMS while a majority of providers were familiar with NEMS. All participants were satisfied with the price and quality of essential medicines, but not satisfied with the quantity. Patients felt there had been a decrease in their total medical expenses per visit and improved pharmaceutical services. Most providers perceived no change in their personal or departmental income. The overall satisfaction rate related to NEMS among providers and patients was 92.54 and 93.31%, respectively. Overall there was a link between knowledge about NEMS and satisfaction with the program: patients who had greater knowledge of reimbursement policy, and the providers with greater knowledge of NEMS, reported higher satisfaction.Conclusions: The findings revealed a high level of satisfaction towards NEMS among primary care providers and patients, which is a reflection of the improvements in the health care system. However, some patients' low awareness of NEMS should be paid attention to, as it could reduce their knowledge of essential medicines and hinder the full potential of NEMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Apoptosis induced by excessive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is accompanied by the occurrence and progression of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. COX-2 is also known to affect the development of I/R damage in myocardium. However, the interaction between COX-2 and ER stress in aggravating myocardial I/R lesion is not well characterized. Therefore, the purpose of our research was to explore the interaction between COX-2 and ER stress on myocardial apoptosis., Methods: The left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was ligatured with a 6-0# suture for 0.5 hours and subsequently subjected to reperfusion for 3 hours to simulate myocardial I/R in mice. Oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) was performed on H9c2 cells to construct an in vitro model of this experiment. NS398 (COX-2 specific inhibitor) and Salubrinal (Sal, ER stress inhibitor) were administered to assess the function of COX-2 and ER stress in myocardial I/R impairment. CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate the viability of H9c2 cells under different treatment conditions. TUNEL and Hoechst staining were used to detect the occurrence of apoptosis. Infarct area/area at risk and Hematoxylin-eosin stained sections were assessed after I/R. Protein expressions of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), COX-2, phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (p-eIF2α), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), and Cleaved caspase 3 in the myocardium were examined using Western blotting. Changes in Cleaved caspase 3 expression in myocardial slices were measured by immunohistochemistry., Results: Sal or NS398 partly reduced I/R-induced damage as testified by the apparent decrease in infarct size after I/R and reduced cell viability following OGD/R. Sal distinctly increased p-eIF2α, but caused decreased expression of COX-2, Cleaved caspase 3, and ER stress-associated proteins after I/R, suggesting that Sal effectively inhibited ER stress, apoptosis, and COX-2. Pretreatment with NS398 blocked I/R or OGD/R-induced upregulation of COX-2, Cleaved caspase 3, and ER stress-related marker proteins., Conclusions: Interaction of COX-2 and ER stress regulates apoptosis and contributes to Myocardial lesion induced by I/R., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2022.)

Background: The National Essential Medicine System (NEMS) is a new policy launched by the Chinese government in 2009. The effects of its introduction have been widely investigated. However, little research has focused on individual patients' perspectives. The purpose of this study was to examine current understanding and opinions of China's NEMS of primary care providers (PCPs) and patients., Methods: Providers (n = 134) and patients (n = 175) were examined based on self-completed questionnaire surveys conducted in 16 primary healthcare centers in Ningxia, northwestern China. Questions addressed the topics of: participants' socio-demographic characteristics; awareness of NEMS policies; perceptions of NEMS-related changes; satisfactions with NEMS., Results: The patients had a low awareness of NEMS while a majority of providers were familiar with NEMS. All participants were satisfied with the price and quality of essential medicines, but not satisfied with the quantity. Patients felt there had been a decrease in their total medical expenses per visit and improved pharmaceutical services. Most providers perceived no change in their personal or departmental income. The overall satisfaction rate related to NEMS among providers and patients was 92.54 and 93.31%, respectively. Overall there was a link between knowledge about NEMS and satisfaction with the program: patients who had greater knowledge of reimbursement policy, and the providers with greater knowledge of NEMS, reported higher satisfaction., Conclusions: The findings revealed a high level of satisfaction towards NEMS among primary care providers and patients, which is a reflection of the improvements in the health care system. However, some patients' low awareness of NEMS should be paid attention to, as it could reduce their knowledge of essential medicines and hinder the full potential of NEMS.