Service functions of private community health stations in China: A comparison analysis with government-sponsored community health stations.

In China, with the restructuring of health care system moving forward, private community health facilities have been playing a complementary but increasingly important role in providing public health and basic medical care services in urban areas. However, only limited evidence is available concerning the service functions of private community health facilities in China. The aim of this study was to explore the functions of private community health stations (PCHSs) to provide evidence-based recommendations for policy-making and practice in the development of urban community health services systems.

TB-SA antibody test for diagnosis and monitoring treatment outcome of sputum smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the suitability of the TB-SA antibody test to diagnose tuberculosis in sputum smear negative (SS-) pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients and its applicability for monitoring treatment outcomes in these patients. This study was conducted in three counties/districts in Chongqing Municipality, Liaoning Province, China between June 2005 and June 2007. A total of 432 SS suspected pulmonary TB patients were recruited and their blood was collected prior to treatment, at the end of 1 month of treatment, 2 months of treatment and 6 months of treatment (E6MT).

A survey of factors associated with the utilization of community health centers for managing hypertensive patients in Chengdu, China.

Background: For decades the development of community health services has been emphasized in China to cope with the growing burden of chronic diseases by providing basic medical services. This survey aims at investigating factors associated with the use of Community Health Centers (CHCs) for the management of hypertensive patients in Chengdu, China.

Methods: We used a systematic sampling method to select 2,030 patients with hypertension or diabetes registered in 29 CHCs in Chengdu in 2007.