Survey on human resources and the cost of essential public health services based on community health service centers in Beijing’s rural areas / 中国卫生政策研究

ABSTRACT

Objectives:To understand the human resources and costs of essential public health services based on community health service centers in Beijing’s rural areas and to offer policy recommendations for advancing the progress of essential public health services. Methods:With the self-designed questionnaire, the paper collected data from the districts of Changping, Tongzhou, Huairou and Miyun. By cluster random sampling, 12 community health service centers and 108 personnel were surveyed based on the level of economic development. Results: The number of young women, preventive personnel and staff with low ranking positions represents a significant share of all essen-tial public health service providers. Beijing’s rural areas deploy a great deal of human resources for vaccination and health education with little set aside for women’s health and reproductive health. The unit cost of setting special col-umns for health education and field disease treatment is higher than other service items. The suburbs deploy a great deal of human resources for service items than the outskirts while the unit costs are lower. Conclusions: Human re-source for essential public health services in Beijing’s rural areas should be strengthened. The costs of service items differ greatly so that policy adjustments and finances should be implemented based on actual demand and resources.