Abstract
There is a dearth of accurate information about health outcomes and health service coverage among ethnic minorities in China. We assessed maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes and service coverage among ethnic minorities compared with Han populations in western China. We did a systematic review searching English (Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science) and Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], VIP, Wanfang) databases for population-based studies comparing MCH indicators between ethnic minorities between Jan 1, 1990, and Nov 9, 2016, in any language. For studies making individual comparisons we used the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% CIs as the primary measure to assess the association between MCH indicators and ethnicity. We used a random-effects model to pool odds ratios. We included 29 Chinese and 16 English language studies, providing 31 individual comparisons and 15 ecological comparisons. Ethnic minority women had lower odds of antenatal care use (pooled crude OR 0·60 [95% CI 0·48-0·75]) and birth in health facilities (0·50 [0·39-0·64]) than did Han women; and their children had higher odds of mortality (2·02 [1·23-3·32]) and lower immunisation (0·34 [0·24-0·47]) than did Han children. After taking account of the potential confounding effects of socioeconomic factors, ethnic minority women were less likely to use antenatal care (pooled adjusted OR 0·54 [0·42-0·71]) or to immunise their children (0·57 [0·44-0·74]) compared with Han women. China has a wealth of primary data that could further our understanding of why ethnic minority populations are lagging behind. As MCH outcomes continue to improve nationally, ethnic minorities will take a greater share of the overall burden of adverse outcomes, requiring strategic investments to address the specific challenges faced by people living in remote areas. China Medical Board.
Highlights
Ethnic minority populations across the world often have worse social and health outcomes than non-ethnic minority populations, though the pattern is by no means constant.[1,2,3] Some ethnic minority populations fare better than others in the same society, and where ethnic variation has been documented the size of effect varies greatly.[1]
We focus on maternal and child health (MCH) because this is a priority area for the Chinese Government and great success has been achieved over the past 20 years.[11]
The Chinese search initially identified 4335 titles and abstracts; 158 of these were retained for full text review and 129 were excluded because they did not contain www.thelancet.com/lancetgh Vol 6 January 2018
Summary
Ethnic minority populations across the world often have worse social and health outcomes than non-ethnic minority populations, though the pattern is by no means constant.[1,2,3] Some ethnic minority populations fare better than others in the same society, and where ethnic variation has been documented the size of effect varies greatly.[1]. China’s 55 ethnic minority groups represent highly hetero geneous socioeconomic positions, languages, religions, and cultural and geographical contexts.[4,5]
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