Citation
Wu, Yuju; Ye, Ruixue; Sun, Chang; Meng, Sha; Cai, Zhengjie; Li, Linhua; Sylvia, Sean; Zhou, Huan; Pappas, Lucy; & Rozelle, Scott (2022). Using Standardized Patients to Assess the Quality of Type 2 Diabetes Care among Primary Care Providers and the Health System: Evidence from Rural Areas of Western China. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1081239. PMCID: PMC9815030Abstract
BACKGROUND: Improving type 2 diabetes (T2D) care is key to managing and reducing disease burden due to the growing prevalence of diabetes worldwide, but research on this topic, specifically from rural areas, is limited. This study uses standardized patients (SPs) to assess T2D care quality among primary care providers to access the healthcare system in rural China.METHODS: Using multi-stage random sampling, health facilities, providers, and households were selected. SPs were used to evaluate providers' T2D care quality and a questionnaire survey was used to collect patient sorting behaviors from households. Logistic regression was used to explore factors correlated with T2D care quality. Provider referral and treatment rates were combined with patient sorting behaviors to assess the overall quality of T2D management by rural China's healthcare system.
RESULTS: A total of 126 providers, 106 facilities, and 750 households were enrolled into this study. During SP interactions, 20% of rural providers followed the national guidelines for T2D consultation, 32.5% gave correct treatment, and 54.7% provided lifestyle suggestions. Multi-variable regression results showed that providers who had earned practicing certificates (
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1081239Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2022Journal Title
Frontiers in Public HealthAuthor(s)
Wu, YujuYe, Ruixue
Sun, Chang
Meng, Sha
Cai, Zhengjie
Li, Linhua
Sylvia, Sean
Zhou, Huan
Pappas, Lucy
Rozelle, Scott