Does China's new cooperative medical scheme promote rural elders' access to healthcare services in relation to chronic conditions?

BACKGROUND: This study examined use of healthcare services by elderly people with a long-term condition living in rural China and participating in that country's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS).

METHODS: Data were taken from the 2009 China Health and Nutrition Survey.

RESULTS: The study results showed that education level and annual income were low among rural elders (aged ≥65 years); the illiteracy rate was 58.0% (200/345) and 67.6% (92/136) had an annual income of less than 5000 Chinese yuan renminbi. The elders had low rates of treatment and use of preventive healthcare services while the prevalence of chronic disease was highest among them when compared to other age groups. Among the few elders who received preventive healthcare, most received it at village clinics.

CONCLUSIONS: Preventive healthcare services and chronic disease management are urgently needed by rural elders in China. NCMS should initiate payments to township health centers to enable them to undertake community outreach and education campaigns among rural residents, and train village doctors in standard chronic condition management and prevention, with prioritization of the provision of prevention and management of chronic conditions by village clinics.