The International journal of health planning and management
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Int J Health Plann Manage · Jan 2019
The effect of patient satisfaction with academic hospitals on their loyalty.
Patients' loyalty to a health care institution can lead to the aggregation of patients' medical history in an institution and facilitating access to records by health care providers. Considering the increase of the competition between providers, it is important to gain patients' satisfaction, which leads to their return and loyalty. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of patients' satisfaction with service quality on their loyalty. ⋯ The results showed that patient satisfaction with service quality affects their hospital choices and increases loyalty. In order to increase patient loyalty to academic hospitals, improving the services quality along with delivering cost-effective cares, improving hospital environment, and providing useful information to patients are recommended.
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Int J Health Plann Manage · Jan 2019
Inequality trends in the demographic and geographic distribution of health care professionals in China: Data from 2002 to 2016.
China has long been negatively affected by a shortage and maldistribution of health workers. This study aimed to examine the national and regional trends in the demographic and geographic distribution inequality of health care professionals in China from 2002 to 2016. Based on data from the China Health and Family Planning Statistical and China Statistical Yearbooks, we calculated the Gini coefficient and the Theil T and Theil L indices based on the number of health care professionals per capita and per geographic area to measure the inequalities in their demographic and geographic distribution, respectively. ⋯ To conclude, the distribution equality of health care professionals by population was satisfactory, whereas the corresponding distribution inequality by area was severe. Different types of distribution inequality of health care professionals existed regionally and nationally despite their increasing quantities and densities. Factors beyond population size should be considered when the government introduces health workforce allocation policies.