Health payment-induced poverty under China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme in rural Shandong.

Objective: To measure the incidence and severity of health payment-induced poverty of rural households under the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) in rural Shandong, China.

Method: We collected primary data from a household survey to identify catastrophic health payments and measure associated health payment-induced poverty in a county of Shandong province. From a stratified random cluster sample of 3101 households, 375 households that might be at risk of catastrophic payments were identified and interviewed.

Prescribing behaviour of village doctors under China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme.

In 2003, China introduced a new community-based rural health insurance called the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS). In 2005, to assess the NCMS effects on village doctors' prescribing behaviour, we compared an NCMS county and a non-NCMS county in Shandong Province. We collected information from a representative total of 2271 patient visits in 30 village health stations (15 per county).

Catastrophic medical payment and financial protection in rural China: evidence from the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in Shandong Province.

Objective: To measure the impact of China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on catastrophic medical payments of rural households in Linyi County, Shandong Province.

Method: In 2005, from a stratified cluster sample of 3101 rural households, we identified 375 households that might be at risk of catastrophic payments by searching through NCMS claims and interviewing key informants. We interviewed these 375 households and confirmed that 231 had had catastrophic payments (> or = 40% of the households' capacity to pay; CTP) during 2004.

[Nonbiologic risk factors of pulmonary tuberculosis among adults in Henan: a case-control study].

Objective: To study the nonbiologic risk factors of tuberculosis (TB) among adults.

Methods: 1:2 matched case-control study was conducted. 158 new smear positive pulmonary TB patients with 25 - 60 years of age were notified and registered from three county anti-TB institutions in Henan from October 2002-March 2004, were selected as cases.

Cost of malaria control in China: Henan's consolidation programme from community and government perspectives.

Objective: To assist with strategic planning for the eradication of malaria in Henan Province, China, which reached the consolidation phase of malaria control in 1992, when only 318 malaria cases were reported.

Methods: We conducted a prospective two-year study of the costs for Henan's malaria control programme. We used a cost model that could also be applied to other malaria programmes in mainland China, and analysed the cost of the three components of Henan's malaria programme: suspected malaria case management, vector surveillance, and population blood surveys.