Research on the Current Situation and Fairness of China's Health Human Resource Allocation during the"13th Five-Year Plan"Period
Objective The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the current status of health human re-source allocation in China during the 13th Five-Year Plan period,and to analyze the equity of such allocation.Furthermore,this research aims to provide recommendations for the rational distribution of health human resources in China.Methods This study employed descriptive statistical analysis to assess the present situation.Additionally,health resource concentration methods were utilized to analyze the equity of health human re-source allocation across the 31 provinces,autonomous regions,municipalities,as well as the eastern,central,and western regions of China during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.Results The findings indicated an overall increasing trend in health human resources during the period from 2016 to 2020.However,significant disparities in distribution persisted among different institutions,regions,and urban and rural areas.At the institutional level,there was a con-sistent imbalance in the allocation of human resources,with hospitals having a higher workforce compared to primary healthcare institutions.The proportion of health technical staff had shown a steady rise over the years.From a re-gional perspective,the eastern region exhibited higher numbers of practicing(assistant)physicians,registered nurses,and pharmacists per thousand population compared to the central and western regions.Notably,the largest difference in absolute numbers was observed in 2019,where the shortage of practicing(assistant)physicians per thousand popu-lation between urban and rural areas reached 0.48.Furthermore,urban areas consistently maintained significantly higher numbers of health technicians,practicing(assistant)physicians,and registered nurses per thousand population compared to rural areas,with the former consistently exceeding the latter by more than double.In terms of equity in the allocation of health human resources,significant regional disparities were observed from both geographical and demographic perspectives,with concentration values consistently higher in the Eastern region compared to the central and western regions.Among the provinces,Shanghai in the eastern region exhibited the highest concentration of vari-ous categories of health technical staff,while Henan in the central region and Chongqing in the western region de-monstrated the highest concentration of health technical staff.Conclusion This study reveals unequal distribution of health human resources across institutions,regions,and urban and rural areas during the 13th Five-Year Plan period in China.The findings highlight the superiority of equity based on demographic considerations rather than geographical considerations in the allocation of health human resources.In order to address these disparities and achieve a more balanced distribution of health human resources,it is recommended that the government take into account various factors,including population and geography,and optimize the geographic allocation of health human resources.
Health human resourcesHealth resource agglomerationEquity
万方数据
