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Background Exploring the factors affecting health service utilization is of great significance for optimizing the allocation of health services. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) focuses on individuals' subjective self-assessment of their current health status, and may affect their health-seeking behaviors, but there are few studies on the impact of HRQoL on health service utilization of rural residents in China. Objective To explore the relationship between HRQoL and health service utilization of rural residents in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and to provide a reference for the development of relevant policies/plans, and for the optimization health services in rural areas. Methods Data were collected from the Health Survey of Rural Residents Families 2019 conducted in four sample counties of Ningxia (Haiyuan, Pengyang, Xiji, Yanchi) from July to August 2019, involving 9 310 cases (≥15 years) with complete key information (gender, age, HRQoL-related indicators, health service utilization indicators). Detailed data of the residents were extracted, including socio-economic and demographic characteristics, health services accessibility, prevalence of chronic diseases, HRQoL measured using European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level Version (EQ-5D-3L) and utilization of health services. The effects of health state utility values and visual analog scale (VAS) score on outpatient and inpatient health service utilization were analyzed by binary Logistic regression. Results The utilization rates of outpatient and inpatient health services of rural residents in Ningxia were 10.85% (1 010/9 310) and 18.86% (1 756/9 310), respectively. The mean health state utility values and mean VAS score of them were (0.965±0.090) and (69.97±17.84), respectively. Difference testing showed that residents with impaired self-care (in the EQ-5D-3L descriptive system) had higher rates of using outpatient health services〔OR (95%CI) =3.197 (2.633, 3.883), P

Background Health service research has become an important research field in health industry of China recently. Existing studies mainly focus on the prevalence of perceived morbidity within two weeks and associated treatment-seeking behaviors as well as influencing factors in residents, but rarely involve in their non-treatment-seeking behaviors. Objective To understand the prevalence of non-treatment-seeking behaviors in rural residents with perceived morbidity within two weeks, and to explore and analyze the influencing factors, so as to put forward targeted suggestions. Methods In December 2019, by use of a multistage stratified cluster random sampling approach, 27 196 residents from four rural counties of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were selected to attend an interviewer-administered, face-to-face survey using a self-developed Two-week Morbidity Questionnaire for understanding their demographics, health characteristics, and the availability and accessibility of medical and health services. A structural equation model built based on the survey results was used to analyze and test the influencing factors of non-treatment-seeking behaviors for two-week morbidity. Results Of the residents, 21 451 (78.88%) who effectively responded to the survey were included for analysis. The two-week morbidity in the respondents was 14.97% (3 212/21 451), and the prevalence of non-treatment-seeking behaviors was 69.46% (2 231/3 212). The prevalence of non-treatment-seeking behaviors for two-week morbidity varied by gender, age, education level, occupation, self-assessed health status, prevalence of chronic diseases, the number of days of bed rest for an illness, and the time to go to secondary or higher medical institutions (P

Background With the severe situation of the increasingly population aging in China, the health problems of the middle-aged and older adults can not be ignored, attracting much attention on the health equity among the rural-dewlling middle-aged and older adults. The geographic remoteness of southern mountainous area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region causes the health conditions of the middle-aged and older adults more unoptimistic. However, there are relatively few studies on the health equity among the middle-aged and older adults in this area. Objective To investigate the health equity of the middle-aged and older adults in the pilot counties of medical reform in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Haiyuan County and Yanchi County) and analyze the contribution degree of various influencing factors to health inequality, so as to provide a basis for improving the health of the middle-aged and older adults and relevant health policies. Methods From January to March in 2022, from the follow-up data of 2019 from the Family Health Inquiry Survey of Rural Residents, the middle-aged and older adults (age≥45 years old) from resident families (living in the corresponding counties for more than one year) were selected as subjects (n=5 908) . The analysis was conducted with the two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate as dependent variables, with sex, age, marital status, level of education, occupation, type of drinking water and per capita family income as independent variables. The concentration index was used to analyze the health equity of the middle-aged and older adults, and the centralized index decomposition method was used to analyze the contribution of various influencing factors to health inequality. Results The concentration indexes of two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate among the middle-aged and older adults in Haiyuan County were 0.030 0, 0.002 9, 0.011 4 and 0.032 7, respectively, while those of two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate among the middle-aged and older adults in Yanchi County were 0.000 4, -0.000 1, 0.037 4 and 0.037 4, respectively. The concentration index decomposition analysis showed that gender, age, level of education, occupation, type of drinking water and per capita family income are the main causes for health inequality among the middle-aged and older adults, among which age and per capita family income contribute more to health inequality. The contribution ratio of age to the two-week prevalence rate, hronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate in Haiyuan County were -11.92%, -152.57%, -27.76% and 7.80%, respectively. The contribution ratio of age to the two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate in Yanchi County were -334.79%, 1 117.94%, -45.45% and-25.44%, respectively. The contribution ratio of per capita family income to the two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate among the middle-aged and older adults in Haiyuan County were 35.41%, -0.31%, 2.08% and 22.03%, respectively. The contribution ratio to the two-week prevalence rate, chronic disease prevalence rate, two-week bedridden rate and two-week leaving rate among the middle-aged and older adults in Yanchi County were 86.88%, -165.24%, 37.13% and 1.50%, respectively. Conclusion Overall, the health equity among the middle-aged and older adults in the pilot counties of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is better but tilted towards those with higher incomes. Age contributes the most to health inequity among the middle-aged and older adults. The society should give higher priority to the middle-aged and older adults; Local primary health care institutions can increase the health awareness of the middle-aged and older adults by providing free health check-ups regularly and promoting health literacy to them. The health administration should adjust relevant health policies to better meet the health needs of the middle-aged and older adults and ultimately achieve health equity.

This study aimed to investigate the association between sanitary toilets and health poverty vulnerability among rural western Chinese adults aged 45 years and older. Using data from the 'Rural Household Health Inquiry Survey' conducted in 2022, a three-stage feasible generalized least squares method was employed to calculate health poverty vulnerability. Propensity score matching (PSM) and mediation effect analysis were used to assess the association between sanitary toilets and health poverty vulnerability among rural western Chinese adults aged 45 years and older and the mechanisms underlying this impact. This study revealed that the use of sanitary toilets was significantly associated with decreased health poverty vulnerability in adults over 45 years of age. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that this effect was more pronounced among males (β = -0.0375, P<0.05), those aged 60–74 years (β = -0.0476, P<0.05), and households with middle income (β = -0.0590, P<0.01). Mediation effect analysis identified total household income (a×b = -0.0233, P<0.05), household size (a×b = -0.0181, P<0.01), number of household laborers (a×b = -0.0107, P<0.01), and registered poor households (a×b = -0.0081, P<0.01) as the mediating factors between sanitary toilets and health poverty vulnerability. The provision of sanitary toilets has been instrumental in mitigating health-related poverty among middle-aged and elderly people residing in rural areas. By improving household livelihood capital, the vulnerability of these individuals to health-related poverty can be significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]