Zhongguo quanke yixue (Feb 2024)
Development Trend and Equity Analysis of Human Resources for Health in China, 2005-2021
Abstract
Background The "Healthy China 2030" strategy has put forward higher demands for the allocation of health human resources, and more regional studies on the evaluation of the equity of health human resources have been conducted in China, but there is no overview of multiple categories of health human resources in various medical institutions from a national perspective. Objective To describe the trend and equity of 12 categories of health care institutions and 5 categories of health human resources in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) nationwide from 2005-2021, so as to provide reference for the optimization of human resource allocation in various health institutions in the future. Methods National data on health human resources was collected from China Public Health Statistical Yearbook (2006-2012), China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook (2013-2017) and China's Hygiene and Health Statistical Yearbook (2018-2022), demographic and economic data was collected from China Statistical Yearbook (2006-2022). The average annual growth rate and concentration index were calculated by collecting the per capita occupancy of each health human resource in medical and health institutions in each province (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) of China from 2005 to 2021, and the equity analysis was conducted based on the level of economic development. Results The total number of health personnel in China continued to rise, with an average annual growth rate of 5.58%, with faster growth in rural areas at an average annual growth rate of 10.87%; the number of health personnel in community health service centers (stations) had the fastest growth rate (average annual growth rate of 18.05%), the number of personnel in health supervision offices grew at a lower rate (average annual growth rate of 0.18%), and the number of personnel in disease prevention and control centers showed a decreasing trend (average annual growth rate of -0.39%). Except for community health service centers (stations), the concentration index of the total number of health personnel in all types of medical institutions was <0.20. Conclusion The per capita occupancy of each health human resource in medical and health institutions is growing faster in rural areas, the equity of human resources across health institutions in China is good, but the total amount is insufficient, and important institutions and personnel categories need attention. Investment in human resources for rural health should continue to be strengthened, and the state and provinces should stabilize the public health workforce, improve the development of primary health service institutions, and expand equity and accessibility.
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