Search

Life expectancy in China has increased. This paper explores the age when older adults (aged 60 and above) consider themselves to be an 'older person' and how age-related loss of resources (five dimensions: early cumulative factors, decline and loss of health resources, reduction and loss of economic resources, weakening and loss of social support resources, and personal role transition and experiences of losing family members) could impact their perceived old age. Using two waves of data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS) in 2014 and 2016 (6,244 participants in 2014 and 2,989 participants in both 2014 and 2016), we found that the mean perceived old age is around 70 years at baseline (2014). Higher level of educational attainment and occupational types (early cumulative factors), better health condition, receiving support from friends and taking care of grandchildren are significantly associated with the perception that old age begins at an older age at baseline, while being Han-Chinese, being an urban resident (early cumulative factors) and reporting better health condition have significant positive effects on the perception that old age begins at an older age in the later wave. Our findings suggest that the age standard of older adults should be adjusted dynamically in response to social development and longevity, and also highlight the importance of early cumulative factors in shaping the ageing process besides age-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper aims to analyze the inequalities in general practitioner (GP) distribution in China. Background: GPs-based primary health care (PHC) has been implemented from 2011 in China, aiming to improve the accessibility and quality of basic medical and healthcare services. GPs in China, as the gatekeeper of people's health, mainly undertake integrated health services at the grass-roots level. Methods: The number of GPs and inequality in GPs distribution from 2012 to 2018 was analyzed by the Lorenz Curve/Gini coefficient and Theil L index. Data were extracted from China Health Statistical Yearbook 2013–2019. Findings: The demographic Gini coefficient of GPs changed from 2012 (0.234) to 2018 (0.167), showing high equality in China. In contrast, the Thiel L index from 2012 (0.372) to 2018 (0.345) showed less equality. The decomposition of Thiel L index implicated the inequalities within the divisions. The number of GPs in China shows a fast growth trend since the general practice system established, and the GPs distribution becomes more demographically equitable. However, the shortage of GPs and inequality in their distribution remains severe. More incentive and supportive policies need to be made to enhance the quantity, quality, and structure of GPs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global health research partnerships are increasingly taking the form of consortia. Recent scholarship has proposed what features of governance may be necessary for these consortia to advance justice in global health. That guidance purports three elements of global health research consortia are essential — their research priorities, research capacity development strategies, research translation strategies — and should be structured to promote the health of the worst-off globally. This paper adopted a reflective equilibrium approach, testing the proposed ethical guidance against the experience of a global health research consortium with equity objectives. Case study research was performed with Future Health Systems (FHS), a health systems research consortium funded over two phases. Data on FHS Phase-2 were gathered through in-depth interviews with steering committee members and junior researchers and collection of consortium-related documents. Thematic analysis of the data for consistency with the proposed guidance generated recommendations for how the guidance might be better articulated and identified areas where it could usefully be expanded. Factors facilitating FHS alignment with the ethical guidance were also identified, including early engagement and partnership with low and middle-income country stakeholders, the learning developed during FHS Phase-1, and aspects of the grant program funding it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research reported in this paper investigated the effects of semantic relatedness of words (closely related vs. distantly related) and morpheme type (free morpheme vs. bound morpheme) on young Chinese children's homophone awareness, an aspect of morphological awareness, in two experiments. The first experiment was a cross-sectional study including 39 children in a beginning kindergarten class, 39 children in an intermediate kindergarten class, and 36 children in a senior kindergarten class. The second experiment was a 7-month longitudinal study involving 43 first graders and 50 second graders at the beginning of the study. In both experiments, the children judged whether orally presented words shared the same morpheme or contained homophonous morphemes. The results suggest that homophone awareness emerges in Chinese children in the kindergarten years. Children's morpheme identification is facilitated by the semantic proximity of words that share a morpheme, and awareness of free morphemes is developed before that of bound morphemes. Furthermore, although semantic relatedness is the most prominent factor in kindergarten, its effect varies as a function of morpheme type in the early primary grades. Our research sheds light on the developmental course of morphological awareness and the factors that influence it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]