Analysis on the allocation of health human resources in medical institutions and its mechanism obstacles in poverty-stricken counties of Hubei province / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the problems and mechanism obstacles existing in the allocation of health human resources in medical institutions in poverty-stricken counties of Hubei province, and propose targeted policy recommendations. Methods The stratified random sampling method was used in an on-site investigation conducted at 5 county-level hospitals and 9 township hospitals in 3 poverty-stricken counties of Hubei province. Results The allocation of human resources in such counties showed an overall trend of improvement year by year. However, some of the counties still faced such problems as inadequate health workforce, unreasonable structure of health manpower, and great gaps of health manpower structure within the county. In most of the hospitals, the proportion of health technicians with bachelor's degree or above fell below 50% . In county hospitals, the proportion of personnel expenditure was generally less than 15% from 2013 to 2016. Conclusions The allocation of health human resources in poverty-stricken areas is facing such mechanism obstacles as limited financial input, restrictions of staffing quota, and lack of cooperative motivation by medical institutions. It is necessary to clarify the responsibility of the government and guarantee the fiscal support of personnel expenditure. It is also imperative to promote the reform of the personnel practice in the health system, strengthen the construction of the health talents guarantee mechanism at the primary level, optimize the vertical cooperation mechanism of medical institutions and promote the integrated health management of counties-township-villages.