Counties In China Research Articles

The clinical pathway in China county for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment (2024 edition)

Standardizing the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer is a key measure to improve the survival rate of lung cancer patients and reduce the mortality rate. However, county hospitals generally face the problem of inaccessibility to advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies. Therefore, when developing quality control standards and clinical diagnosis and treatment specifications, it is necessary to combine the actual situation of county hospitals and formulate specific recommendations. The recommendations of treatment measures also need to consider the approval status of indications and whether it is included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), to ensure the access to medicines. To address the above issues, based on the existing guidelines at home and abroad and the clinical work characteristics of county hospitals, the " the clinical pathway in China county for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment (2024 edition)" has been updated on the basis of the first edition. This pathway elaborated on the imaging diagnosis, pathological diagnosis, molecular testing, precision medicine, and developed different diagnosis and treatment processes for different types of lung cancer patients. Consistent with the first pathway, this update still divides the recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of clinical scenarios into basic strategies and optional strategies for elaboration. The basic strategies are the standards that county hospitals must meet, while the optional strategies provide more choices for hospitals, which are convenient for county doctors to put into clinical practice. All the recommended diagnostic and treatment plans strictly refer to existing guidelines and consensus. Compared to the first edition, based on the latest high-level evidence-based medicine and the approval status of indications, the pathway has updated the diagnosis and treatment recommendations for lung cancer under different pathological types, TNM classification, and molecular classification in basic and optional strategies.

How the Soybean Producer Subsidy Policy affects crop planting structure: evidence from Chinese county-level data

PurposeThe Soybean Producer Subsidy Policy (SPSP), an agricultural support policy enacted in China within the past few years, is designed to optimise crop planting structure. This study analyses the impact of SPSP on the crop planting structure in terms of absolute and comparative incomes and elucidates the mechanisms involved.Design/methodology/approachUtilising balanced county-level panel data from 966 counties in China’s major soybean-producing regions, spanning from 2008 to 2021, we investigate the impacts of SPSP on crop planting structure by applying a difference-in-difference (DID) model.FindingsThe findings reveal several crucial insights. First, SPSP optimises the crop planting structure in Northeast China, primarily through an expansion in the area sown to soybeans and a simultaneous reduction in the area sown to maize. Second, the impacts of SPSP gradually strengthen over time but begin to weaken by 2021. Third, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects of SPSP are most pronounced in Eastern Inner Mongolia, followed by Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. Finally, SPSP incentivises farmers to expand soybean sown areas by improving absolute rather than comparative incomes from soybean cultivation.Practical implicationsAddressing structural contradictions within China’s food supply chain necessitates the adjustment of support policies for different crops to mitigate market distortions. Establishing a holistic agricultural support system encompassing various crops could promote sustainable agricultural practices in the future.Originality/valueOur findings are valuable for policy makers in China and globally who aim to establish support systems for regional linkages that include a variety of crops.

Sand and Dust Storm Risk Assessment in Arid Central Asia: Implications for the Environment, Society, and Agriculture

AbstractThis study aimed to assess sand and dust storm (SDS) risks in arid Central Asia during 2001–2021 from a multisectoral (environment, society, and agriculture) and comprehensive perspective on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The results show that the areas with moderate or greater SDS risk accounted for 18.75% of the total area of arid Central Asia. The high SDS risk areas are mainly concentrated in the oases around the desert and are most widely distributed in spring and summer. The SDS risk in the oasis area of southern Xinjiang increased significantly, while the SDS risk in the northeastern Aral Sea region and the Kazakh hilly region decreased significantly over the 21 years. Khwarazm of Uzbekistan, located in the Amu Darya River Delta, is the administrative district with the highest comprehensive risk of sandstorms, and the Balkan State of Turkmenistan and Kashi City and Zepu County in China are the administrative districts with the highest multisectoral risk of sandstorms. The results of this study provide a complete picture of SDS risks in the arid Central Asia region and will provide some guidance to policymakers and local authorities in SDS risk mitigation.

Regional Disparities, Economic Development, and Neonatal Mortality and Hospital Delivery in China.

A negative association between neonatal mortality and hospital delivery has been found in some low- and lower-middle-income countries but not in rural settings characterized by poor quality of maternal and child health care. To examine the association between neonatal mortality and hospital delivery in China across urban and rural regions, regional disparities, and varying levels of economic development. This retrospective cohort study used county-level data from 2008 to 2020 from the National Maternal & Child Health Statistics across mainland China. Statistical analysis was conducted from March to December 2023. Since 2008, China has strategically leveraged hospital deliveries with national subsidies to diminish neonatal mortality, particularly in rural areas. Neonatal mortality and hospital delivery rates were calculated, and their association was estimated using multivariable fixed-effects linear models of county-level cohort data to adjust for time-invariant differences across counties and controls for gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, women's years of education, hospital beds, and health workers. The analysis included data from 2930 counties, with 198.7 million live births across 36 255 county-year records between 2008 and 2020. The mean (SD) neonatal mortality rate per 1000 live births decreased in rural areas from 12.3 (7.5) in 2008 to 3.9 (2.7) in 2020 and decreased in urban areas from 5.0 (3.1) in 2008 to 2.0 (1.3) in 2020. Hospital delivery rates increased in rural areas from a mean (SD) of 93.4% (11.8%) in 2008 to 99.9% (0.6%) in 2020 and increased in urban areas from 97.7% (6.1%) in 2008 to 100.0% (0.1%) in 2020. In rural areas, an increase of 10 percentage points in hospital deliveries was associated with a neonatal mortality rate of -1.4 (95% CI, -1.9 to -1.0; P < .001) per 1000 live births, whereas this negative association was not observed in urban areas. When the analysis was stratified by regions and incomes, the negative association became considerably stronger in the western and central regions of China, as well as in counties with lower GDP per capita. This cohort study of more than 2900 counties in China suggests that an increase in hospital deliveries was associated with reduced neonatal mortality in rural and economically underdeveloped areas in China. To further reduce neonatal mortality and improve newborn health, it is imperative to increase the accessibility of hospital delivery services.

Is a Rural Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Conducive to the Improvement of Entrepreneurial Performance? Evidence from Typical Counties of Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation in China

Rural entrepreneurship is an important means to solve the problem of “rural decline” and is also the focus of the “rural revitalization” strategy. The rural entrepreneurship ecosystem directly affects entrepreneurial performance. Based on the configurational perspective, using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method, taking 85 typical rural innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration counties in China as research samples, this study explores the impact path of the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem composed of multiple factors on entrepreneurial performance and the complex causal mechanisms behind it. The results show that market size, human capital, financial capital, infrastructure (both hardware and software), and government scale cannot individually constitute the necessary conditions for high or non-high rural entrepreneurial performance; there exist two pathways driving high entrepreneurial performance in rural areas: a market-driven financing-and-intelligence integration pathway and a government-supported infrastructure-assisted pathway. Under certain conditions, there is a substitution relationship between rural entrepreneurial market allocation and government intervention; there are two paths driving non-high rural entrepreneurial performance, which are summarized into market–financing suppression and market–government suppression according to the core driving factors. By systematically analyzing the impact of the rural entrepreneurial ecosystem on entrepreneurial performance, and explaining the intrinsic logic and path of high and non-high entrepreneurial performance based on the configurational perspective, this paper provides a decision-making reference for further enhancing the entrepreneurial performance in rural China and realizing rural revitalization.

Sufficient sleep and physical activity can relieve the effects of long-term exposure to particulate matter on depressive symptoms among 0.31 million children and adolescents from 103 counties in China.

Although long-term exposures to air pollutants have been linked to mental disorders, existing studies remain limited and inconsistent. We investigated the relationship between exposure to particulate matter (PM) and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential role of sleep duration and physical activity. Using the surveillance data (2019 to 2022) of common diseases and risk factors among 312,390 students aged 10-25years, logistic regression, generalized liner model (GLM) and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were employed to investigate the relationship between long-term exposure to PM and depressive symptoms. Significant associations were found between PM1 (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.12-1.32), PM2.5 (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.19-1.38), and PM10 (OR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.69-2.07) and increased risks of depressive symptoms. Sleep duration and physical activity relieved these associations. The odds ratios (ORs) of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 on depressive symptoms were lower in group with sufficient sleep (1.02 vs. 1.49, 1.20 vs. 1.80, 2.15 vs. 2.23), lower in group with high level MVPA (1.13 vs. 1.48, 1.14 vs. 1.58, 1.85 vs. 2.38), and lower in group with high level outdoor activity (1.19 vs. 1.55, 1.23 vs. 1.63, 1.83 vs. 2.72). Conclusions about causality remain speculative because of the cross-sectional design. Sufficient sleep duration and outdoor activity may mitigate the decline in mental health among adults in developing countries caused by long-term exposure to PM. This contribution enhanced our understanding of the mechanisms linking air pollution to mental health.

Projecting future minimum mortality temperature in China

Minimum mortality temperature (MMT) increases with global warming due to climate adaptation, which is crucial for the precise assessment of mortality burden attributed to climate change. Nevertheless, forecasting future MMT poses a challenge given the unavailability of future mortality data. Here, we attempted to develop a novel approach to project future MMT. First, we estimated the MMT of 334 locations in China using a distributed lag nonlinear model. Then, meta regression models were applied to investigate the associations between MMT and several temperature variables(Most Frequent Temperature(MFT), average daily mean temperature, average daily minimum temperature, average daily maximum temperature and percentiles of temperature from 1st to 100th). A generalized linear regression model was employed to investigate whether significant differences existed in the relationships between MMT and temperature from the 1st to the 100th percentile. Finally, an optional indicator of MMT for projecting future values was identified. Our results indicated that temperatures in the 85th to 89th percentiles were closely associated with MMT, with the 88th percentile temperature serving as the most effective indicator, as confirmed by meta-regression models. Using the 88th percentile of temperature as alternative indicator of MMT, compared with the period of 2006-2015, the projected MMT in most districts and counties in China tended to rise under three representative concentration pathways (RCPs) in the 2030s (2030-2039), 2060s (2060-2069), and 2090s (2090-2099). Our findings provide some insight to project future MMT for assessing mortality burden related to temperature change driven by global warming.

Do impoverished regions benefit from climate change mitigation measures? Evidence from the Forest Carbon Sink Project in China

ABSTRACT Forests play a crucial role in achieving global climate change mitigation goals. The Forest Carbon Sink Project (FCSP) was initially proposed by the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol, aiming to address externalities in climate governance through ecological compensation mechanisms. For impoverished regions, the FCSP is more attractive than the mandatory administrative approaches to forest protection. This Currently, due to the lack of empirical research, there is still debate in the academic community about whether the FCSP can produce overall positive economic benefits in poor areas. Based on panel data from 634 impoverished counties in China from 2002 to 2019, this study attempts to address this issue using a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. The results demonstrate that, compared to non project counties, the implementation of the FCSP led to an increase in actual GDP and per capita GDP of 8.40% and 11.10% in project counties, respectively. That is, the FCSP can expand the economic scale while also promoting economic growth of project counties. The results of the dynamic model show that the economic benefits generated by the FCSP in these counties are long-term and sustainable. Based on the results of theoretical analysis and mechanism testing models, this study concludes that the FCSP generates short-term economic benefits through capital investment. It generates long-term economic benefits by improving the productivity of the primary industry labour force, increasing the level of fixed asset construction, and optimizing the industrial structure in poverty-stricken counties. Additionally, this study also conducted a heterogeneity analysis. In summary, this study concludes that the FCSP is a climate change mitigation measure worthy of promotion in impoverished regions.

Current Status of Nursing Home Distribution in China: ANational Cross-Sectional Study.

Population aging is a challenge that the whole world is facing, especially in China. This study aims to investigate the current distribution status of nursing homes in China using spatial epidemiology methods. Cross-sectional study in China. The data were obtained from the Integrated Civil Affairs Government Service Platform 'China County Statistical Yearbook' for 2020 and the 'China City Statistical Yearbook' for 2020. Using global Moran's index to test the clustering of nursing homes, inter-group and intra-group Theil index was utilised to differentiate the sources of differences. The coupling coordination analysis was conducted to explore the coordination. Geographically weighted regression was utilised to investigate the impact of economic development and aging on nursing home resources. All analyses were conducted by Arcgis 10.8 and R Studio 4.3.2. Global Moran's index indicated that the distribution of nursing homes in China exhibited clustering. The Theil index values for institutions and beds at the national county were 0.32450 and 0.30675. However, upon comparing provinces and regions, it was found that the differences across the country mainly stem from within provinces (contribution rate: institutions 65.0%; beds 73.0%) and within regions (contribution rate: institutions 99.0%; beds 91.0%). The majority of districts and counties had a coupling coordination index of institutions and bed numbers, both of which were < 0.5. The development of nursing home resources in China has been rapid, generally presenting a balanced state, but further optimisation is needed. This study established a foundation for the targeted distribution of essential public services, focusing on nursing home healthcare resources tailored to the needs of older persons. The study underscored the urgent need for targeted elderly care policies, emphasising the optimisation of resource distribution to enhance the overall quality of care provided to the aging population. The study did not involve humans.

How Can Digital Villages Improve Basic Public Services Delivery in Rural Areas? Evidence from 1840 Counties in China

Digital transformation is spreading from urban to rural areas, and the construction of digital villages has become a key growth point for rural sustainable development globally. Digital villages improve the level of basic public services delivery in rural areas via the penetration of digital technology. However, few studies have empirically investigated the theoretical mechanisms underlying the impact of digital villages on various aspects of rural basic public services. To address these gaps, this study investigates the impact mechanisms of digital villages on rural basic public services delivery in terms of accessibility, equity, agility, holistic nature and participation. Using 1840 counties in China as the research sample, this study applies the entropy method to extract a composite index of basic public services and performs correlation, regression, and heterogeneity analyses to examine the effects of digital villages on basic public services delivery. Empirical analysis results show that the construction of digital villages is positively associated with the level of basic public services in rural areas. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analysis results confirms that this relationship is mainly observed in eastern counties but not observed in central and western counties. These findings provide a basis for using digital inclusion to improve basic public services delivery in rural areas and achieve balanced development across regions.

Investigating Frailty, Polypharmacy, Malnutrition, Chronic Conditions, and Quality of Life in Older Adults: Large Population-Based Study.

Aging, a significant public health issue, is associated with multiple concurrent chronic diseases and aging-related conditions (geriatric syndromes). This study aims to investigate the impact of age and chronic conditions on geriatric syndromes and the intercorrelations between multiple geriatric syndromes and quality of life (QoL) in older adults (aged ≥65 years) at the population level. A large representative sample was randomly selected from a county in China, Feidong, with 17 towns and 811,867 residents. Multiple chronic conditions, geriatric syndromes (frailty, polypharmacy, and malnutrition), and QoL were assessed and compared. Associations of demographic information and chronic conditions with geriatric conditions and QoL in older adults were assessed using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. Intercorrelations between age, multiple geriatric syndromes, and QoL were investigated using both correlation analysis and restricted cubic splines-based multivariable-adjusted dose-response analysis. Older adults comprised 43.42% (3668/8447) of the entire study population. The prevalence of frailty, premalnutrition or malnutrition, polypharmacy, and impaired QoL (median age 73, IQR 69-78 years; 1871/3668, 51% men) was 8.26% (303/3668), 15.59% (572/3668), 3.22% (118/3668), and 10.8% (396/3668), respectively. Different age and sex subgroups mostly had similar prevalence of geriatric syndromes (except that frailty occurred more often with older age). Premalnutrition or malnutrition were associated with a lower frequency of obesity and a higher frequency of constipation, polypharmacy with a higher frequency of diabetes and constipation, frailty with a higher frequency of constipation and hernia, and impaired QoL with a higher frequency of hypertension, diabetes, physical disability, and constipation. Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form, Groningen Frailty Indicator, and EQ-5D-5L scores, as well as the number of medications used, mostly predicted each other and QoL. Impaired QoL was associated with a higher frequency of frailty, premalnutrition or malnutrition, and polypharmacy, and frailty with a higher frequency of premalnutrition or malnutrition and polypharmacy. At a 1.5-year follow-up, impaired QoL was linked to polypharmacy and frailty at baseline, premalnutrition or malnutrition and polypharmacy were associated with frailty at baseline, and frailty was linked to both premalnutrition or malnutrition and polypharmacy at baseline. Causal mediation analyses showed that frailty mediated the link between polypharmacy and worse QoL and that polypharmacy mediated the link between frailty and worse QoL. In this large population-based study of older adults, multiple chronic conditions were associated with ≥1 of the investigated geriatric syndromes. Geriatric syndromes were mostly intercorrelated with, and well predictive of, each other and QoL; and causal relationships existed between geriatric syndromes and QoL, with other geriatric syndromes being mediators. The findings might be biased by residual confounding factors. It is important to perform personalized geriatric syndrome assessments stratified by chronic condition; active prevention of, or intervention for, any syndrome might help to reduce the others and improve QoL.

Distal radius fractures and distal ulna fractures among adults in a southern China county during the 11-year-period 2010 to 2020.

Most distal radius fractures are associated with distal ulnar fractures. However, there is still a lack of consensus on the incidence of different types of distal ulnar fractures among adults in China. Therefore, we analyzed the incidence of distal radial fractures with and without associated distal ulnar fractures among adults in a southern China county from 2010 to 2020. Registry data of 2333 patients (2351 sides) with a distal radius fracture from 2010 to 2020 underwent evaluation, encompassing parameters such as age, sex, distal radius fracture classification, fracture side, and distal ulnar fracture classification. Distal radial fractures were classified according to the AO/OTA classification. Distal ulnar fractures were examined using the Q-modifier classification. 1719 females (73.68%) and 614 males (26.32%) were included in the study. Compared to men, the incidence of distal radial fractures accompanying distal ulnar fractures in women was approximately 2.8 times higher. Additionally, 49.81% of distal radius fractures were associated with fractures of the distal ulna, while 46.44% were associated with fractures of the ulnar styloid. The most common fracture type was that of the ulnar styloid Q1 (93.73%). The mean age of female patients was 61.71 ± 12.13, while male patients had an average age of 50.63 ± 14.86. The Q1 type was the most common type of distal ulnar fracture. We also found that more females (age range: 50 years or older) had type C distal radius fractures compared to males. However, type B fractures were observed more frequently in males than in females (range: 18-49 years). Osteoporosis was believed to be the main cause of fractures in women aged >50 years old. Moreover, the peak incidence of radius fractures in males was lower than in females in different age groups.

What drives the development of digital rural life in China?

Background and objectiveEmpowering rural life through digital technology reflects the collective aspirations of millions of farmers striving for a better quality of life. Ensuring that the benefits of digital advancements reach every corner of the population is a crucial and inevitable choice. To expedite the establishment of an inclusive digital life for all citizens, the Chinese government has exerted substantial efforts by positioning the development of digital villages as a national strategy. Through comprehensive initiatives in digital village construction, facilitating the extension of "Internet+" services such as education, healthcare, transportation, and entertainment to rural areas. 24-hour digital village libraries, smart health stations, intelligent homes, facial recognition payments, unmanned supermarkets, and a variety of digitized, networked, and intelligent lifestyle applications are increasingly prevalent in Chinese rural regions. The digital gap between urban and rural areas in China is gradually diminishing, and the ongoing evolution of rural digital lifestyles paints a picturesque picture of an enhanced rural life. This study endeavors to provide a meticulous analysis of the digital landscape in Chinese villages, seeking to unravel the intricacies behind the swift development of rural digital life. MethodsUsing the top 100 counties in China's 2020 Rural Life Digitization Index ranking as case studies, this research collected the necessary data through industry research reports and official statistical sources. To begin with, based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) analysis framework, variables such as digital infrastructure, government policy support, funds are put into utilization, digital economy level, and farmer digital literacy were identified. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method was then employed to recognize the influencing factors of rural digital life and combinations of condition variables. Subsequently, utilizing the system dynamics methodology, the relationships between factors were analyzed, simulating changes in rural digital life development to gain a deeper understanding of the key elements affecting rural digital life. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to further reveal the extent of influence of these key elements on rural digital life. ResultsThe fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis reveals that the evolution of rural digital life in China is a complex outcome influenced by the simultaneous interplay of multiple factors. It demonstrates a pattern of diverse combinations and parallel pathways encompassing various variables. Among these configurations, six paths stand out with the highest coverage. These six paths can be further classified into three modes of rural digital life development in China: environment-empowered type, organization-pushed type, and compound-driven type. Further dissection of causal combinations through a system dynamics model unveils that the progression of rural digital life is intricately linked to key factors such as information infrastructure, policy intensity, and digital learning and development. Over time, there is a discernible upward trajectory in the level of rural digital life, characterized by an accelerating pace of improvement. The influence of policy intensity on rural digital life surpasses that of information infrastructure and digital learning and development, indicating that policy intensity exerts the most significant impact overall. ConclusionThe evolution of rural digital life in China is a complex, long-term process propelled by a combination of multiple factors. China's experience demonstrates that achieving high-level development in rural digital life demands attention not only to the synergistic interplay of various factors but also a strategic focus on leveraging specific key elements. This entails skillfully integrating diverse factors and identifying pivotal areas to maximize the impact of relevant conditions to the greatest extent possible.

Study on the influence of global tourism development on the upgrading of county industrial structure

Taking the global tourism as an important grasp, promoting the tourism to the industrial structure optimization and economic development of the driving force, is conducive to the high-quality development of China's county economy. Based on the panel data of 255 demonstration counties of global tourism in 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2020, and on the basis of analyzing the correlation between the two, this paper empirically tests the relationship between the development of global tourism and the upgrading of county industrial structure by using static panel model and systematic GMM estimation method. It is found that the development of global tourism has a positive and significant impact on the upgrading of county industrial structure, and there are significant differences in this effect between the eastern, central and western regions of China. Therefore, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to promote the upgrading of county industrial structure through the development of global tourism.

Measuring and optimizing the spatial accessibility of primary health care in remote and rural areas: a case study of Liannan Yao Autonomous County in China

The need for equitable access to primary healthcare services in the current global context has attracted widespread attention, prompting nations to continuously enhance their grassroots medical service levels. In response, China launched the "Healthy China" initiative, which prioritizes the enhancement of national health as a core goal of the healthcare system and uses this opportunity to deepen reforms aimed at strengthening primary care. However, in remote and rural areas, the optimization of medical resource allocation and the achievement of balanced service development remain critical challenges owing to limited resources. This study selected Liannan Yao Autonomous County, which is situated in the northwestern corner of Guangdong Province, as a case study due to its remote mountainous location, underdeveloped economy, and minority region characteristics. Through field research and interviews, this study thoroughly explored the needs of both supply and demand, factoring in elements such as the service capability of healthcare facilities and residents' travel thresholds to enhance the two-step floating catchment area model, thus making it more applicable to remote villages. By integrating electric bikes and cars, which are the primary means of transportation in rural areas, this study conducted a thorough analysis and comparison of the accessibility of medical services in Liannan Yao Autonomous County (Liannan County) . The results reveal significant disparities in healthcare accessibility, an uneven distribution of medical resources, and varying impacts of transportation conditions and facility service capabilities on accessibility. Notably, the study revealed that improving transportation conditions alone has limited effects in rural areas; the key lies in balancing medical service capabilities and the rationality of overall layouts. From the perspectives of equity and efficiency, this study employs the equitable coverage model and the efficiency-driven model to construct two scenarios, comparing accessibility changes in Liannan County under both conditions and proposing strategies to improve the spatial layout of local healthcare facilities. This research not only deepens the understanding of healthcare service accessibility in rural areas but also provides a scientific basis for optimizing resource allocation and enhancing primary medical services, offering valuable guidance and reference for Liannan County and other similar rural regions.

Contrasting Non-Timber Forest Products’ Case Studies in Underdeveloped Areas in China

Enhancing the sustainability of the non-timber forest products industry has dual significance for both the management of local forest resources and socio-economic development. This paper adopts a systems theory perspective to construct an analytical model for the sustainable development of non-timber forest products, based on a “social-economic-natural” framework. By analyzing case studies of non-timber forest products industry sustainability from four underdeveloped counties in China, the paper derives the following main conclusions and insights: The sustainability of non-timber forest products development models is influenced by factors such as resource endowments and institutional environments and includes both single and composite models. Underdeveloped regions can achieve considerable sustainability in the development of non-timber forest products, but this requires a rational allocation of six key elements—policy, model, stakeholders, natural resources, funding, and technology—to stimulate industry growth. To promote the sustainable development of this industry, optimization should be pursued across five aspects: “policy leadership and top-level design to guide industry development”, “selection of appropriate development models based on local natural endowments and socio-economic foundations”, “large enterprise-driven mechanisms to form multi-stakeholder interest connections”, “focus on product technology research and development, and establishment of technical training mechanisms”, and “market-driven funding to develop product sales markets”.

The spatiotemporal patterns and regional characteristics of extreme heat disaster risk in China at the county level

Under the compound effect of continuous global warming and rapid urbanization, China is experiencing extreme heat events with increased intensity, frequency, and duration, which pose a significant threat to human society. Nonetheless, research on the spatiotemporal patterns and regional characteristics of extreme heat disaster risk (EHDR) at the county level in China remains scarce. To address this gap, we have developed an analytical framework for extreme heat disaster systems and an evaluation system for EHDR indicators. This framework measures the extent of EHDR and examines the dominant subsystems and their transformation processes across different regions. The results show that: (1) The spatial clustering types of EHDR in China's counties are mainly "High-High" and "Low-Low", forming a significant northeast-southwest low-value belt and a northwest-southeast high-value center; (2) In China, 91.49% of counties exhibited an increasing trend in EHDR from 2000 to 2018, while the counties experiencing reduced disaster risk are predominantly located in northern China; (3) The average values of EHDR and its subsystems are significantly higher in the Northwest and the Middle and Lower reaches of the Yangtze River compared to other regions, establishing these areas as high-value clusters; (4) The transformation of dominant subsystems across regions reveals significant geographic differences. In Western China, the environment predominates; in the northern regions, environment-exposure is dominant; and in the southern regions, the hazard is the primary factor. Notably, the causes of disaster risk in the Middle reaches of the Yellow River and the Lower reaches of the Yangtze River are more complex. These findings enhance the understanding of EHDR dynamics within the framework of rapid urbanization and climate change.

The measurement of rural community resilience to natural disaster in China

Comparing with cities, rural communities especially those declining rural communities have become vulnerable to natural disasters owing to their backward socioeconomic conditions. Taking Xun County of China’s Henan Province as the study area, the paper aims to evaluate rural community resilience to flood by unveiling the connection between individuals’ cognition, follow-up actions and the community resilience. Research results show that: (1) The logic chain exists as individual’s cognition to disaster leads to their constructive actions to cope with disaster, which contribute to community resilience. (2) At the cognition dimension, individual’s knowledge reserve of disaster prevention and their recognition to local authority are playing an important role in their decision making and follow-up behaviors when disaster occurs. (3) At the action dimension, individual’s familiarity with the disaster preparedness, efficient information transmission when disaster occurs and villagers’ following order and their unity of action all contribute to community resilience to disaster. The paper proposes ways to improve rural community resilience to disasters based on the research findings.

Correction to: Spatial and temporal changes in social vulnerability to natural hazards: a case study for China counties

Correction to: Spatial and temporal changes in social vulnerability to natural hazards: a case study for China counties

The Practices of the She Organization Contribute to Social Cohesion and Separate Identity in Contemporary Rural Communities: A Case Study in Songyang County of China

The She (社) organization is an ancient Chinese folk religious group that was formed to worship the god of the soil through various activities. In contemporary society, the She organization plays a non-mainstream but important role in increasing social cohesion in China’s rural communities. This case study concentrates on the She organization in Songyang County to examine how its practices contribute to the Han and Non-Han peoples’ continued social cohesion and separate identities through observations, in-depth interviews, and the reviewing of local documentation materials. The findings are as follows: Firstly, as forms of social capital, the normative rituals, values, and informal situational networks of the She organization constitute the mechanisms for building trust, which ultimately promotes social cohesion between the Han and Non-Han peoples. Secondly, the coexistence between She and other belief systems is conducive to establishing the extended social capital of the She organization and maintaining the Han and Non-Han peoples’ separate identities according to their ethnic features. Finally, from the perspective of state-society relations, the social cohesion and continuation of the She organization in contemporary civil society are further interpreted as the results of state systems and policies.