Medical Professionals In China Research Articles

Online Self-Presentation by Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine Medical Professionals in China

ABSTRACT Despite increasing research that examines language features of online medical consultation (OMC) conversations in China, limited attention has been directed to how medical professionals purposefully present themselves in their biographies on OMC websites, an emerging genre of health communication, with even fewer comparative studies on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine (WM) medical professionals in this regard. To fill these gaps, this study compares the personal claims and self-presentational strategies used in TCM and WM medical professionals’ biographies on a Chinese OMC website. It is found that while Chinese TCM and WM medical professionals present themselves in similar ways, they also demonstrate some important differences. The similarities may be driven by their shared goal of building trust in the OMC context, whereas the differences may be ascribed to TCM-WM differences in clinical philosophies, education histories, clinical cultures, and medical practices.

Shen Shiwan : A translator for medicine in the Period of the Republic of China

Shen Shiwan was a translator and physician for both Chinese medicine and western medicine in the period of the Republic of China. This paper examined the life and the main academic contributions of Shen Shiwan. It was found that Shen's main contribution were translating medical works, founding journals and opening the door of Chinese medicine to the world. Additionally, he introduced western medicine, such as pathology, fertility and nutrition to Chinese medical professionals. He also introduced the medical schools of Japanese traditional medicine (Chinese medicine in Japan, Han Yi) into China. Shen's contribution in medicine played an important role for the medical professionals in China in understanding the development of western medicine and Chinese medicine in Japan.

Chinese expert consensus on the management of cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) often have co-existent systemic diseases(comorbidities), among which cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most common. The interactions between COPD and CVD are manifested in shared risk factors, disease severity, common symptoms, risks for exacerbations and disease progression, as well as therapeutic interventions. However, there is a knowledge gap in the management of COPD comorbidities. This expert consensus aims to increase the awareness, and to promote early diagnosis and proper management of cardiovascular comorbidities of COPD in medical professionals in China. The experts recommend that differential diagnosis should be performed for exertional dyspnea, a common symptom of COPD and cardiovascular diseases especially heart failure. Screening for cardiovascular diseases is needed in patients with COPD, and should be managed accordingly. COPD and comorbid CVD should be treated according to usual guidelines. Patients with COPD tolerate well to most of the medications for CVD. Selective β1-blockers for cardiovascular diseases are not contraindicated in COPD, but should be initiated from lower doses, and symptoms of airflow limitation be monitored. Likewise, β2-agonists and antimuscarinic drugs for COPD are generally safe for patients with comorbid CVD. Optimization of COPD management can improve heart function and cardiovascular outcomes.

Burnout and Well-Being Among Medical Professionals in China: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

ObjectiveTo determine the profile of Chinese medical professionals with burnout symptoms at the national level and identify the association between capability well-being and burnout.Design and SettingA cross-sectional study in a nonrandom national sample of medical staff from 6 provinces across western, central and eastern China.ParticipantsPhysicians, medical laboratory scientists, nurses, and general practitioners aged 18 years or above who submitted a completed online questionnaire from June 2019 to January 2020 successfully (N = 25,120).Main Outcome MeasuresThe prevalence of burnout symptoms was assessed by the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), which consists of three domains: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal achievement (PA). The overall high burnout was defined as EE score ≥27 or DP score ≥10. The capability well-being was measured by the Investigating Choice Experiments Capability Measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) and the overall ICECAP-A score was calculated using the UK value set, ranging from a score of 0–1. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between well-being and the overall high burnout.ResultsAmong the 25,120 participants, 60.8% of the participants reported at least one symptom of burnout, whereas 11.2% reported all three symptoms of burnout. In the adjusted model, ICECAP-A score was independently associated with high burnout (AOR = 0.018, 95% CI = 0.015–0.022). Medical staff who were males, with shorter working years, working in tertiary hospitals, and those with the specialties of psychiatry, intensive care, emergency medicine, internal medicine, oncology, and pediatrics were at higher risk of reporting burnout symptoms.ConclusionThe burnout symptoms were relatively common among Chinese medical staff and they were found to be independently associated with capability well-being in health professionals. Interventions should be enhanced on vulnerable groups to reduce burnout and promote well-being in future studies.

Attitudes of medical professionals towards patient-centredness: a cross-sectional study in H City, China

ObjectivesPatient-centred communication improves patient experiences and patient care outcomes. This study aimed to assess the preference of medical professionals in China towards patient-centred communication under the context of the deteriorating...

Doctor-Patient Relationship in the Eyes of Medical Professionals in China During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Doctor-patient relationship (DPR) is very important for patient outcomes, especially during a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have evaluated DPR and related sentiments from medical professionals' perspectives. Thus, the aim of the study is to provide a better understanding of DPR from medical professionals' perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.Methods: A total of 979 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, technicians, and other workers have completed a series of questionnaires to evaluate their attitudes toward DPR, trust, violence against doctors, factors that affected and improved DPR, and the importance of these factors on DPR. Analyses of variances (ANOVA) and linear regressions were used to analyze the effects of the pandemic, demographic variables, and various elements on DPR.Results: One-way ANOVA revealed a significant effect of education on recent DPR [F(2, 976) = 6.17, p < 0.001 and trust at F(2, 976) = 9.54, p < 0.001], indicating that individuals with higher level of education (bachelor's degree, Master's degree and above) showed poorer recent DPR and lower level of trust. The level of hospital also showed a significant effect on trust [F(5, 973) = 3.79, p = 0.0021]. Cochran's Q test revealed a significant difference in factors that affected [Q(11) = 3,997.83, p < 0.001] and improved [Q(8) = 3,304.53, p < 0.001] DPR. Backward stepwise linear regressions revealed predictors for changes during [F(9, 969) = 21.17, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.16], shortly after [F(7, 971) = 54.98, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.28], and long after [F(10, 968) = 37.83, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.29] the pandemic.Conclusions: Medical professionals' perceptions of DPR is important as they provide basis for the improvement in working environment of medical professionals and hospital visiting experience of patients, as well as healthcare policy making and preparation for future public health emergencies.

Internet access, usage and trust among medical professionals in China: A web-based survey

ObjectivesSocial media has changed methods of communication in the medical profession. As part of a “doctor as communicator” strategy, Chinese medical professionals are actively embracing social media, which may have an impact on tense physician-patient relationships in China. This paper aims to examine a pattern of Internet access, Internet usage, and trust among Chinese medical professionals and further explores the reasons for these relationships on an individual level. DesignsA web-based questionnaire was designed, based on a media literacy model, and was divided into 3 dimensions: public information, general medical information, and specialty information. After a two-round pilot study, 1001 physicians were included. Additionally, 4 interviewees were chosen to participate in in-depth interviews and content analysis was performed. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0. ResultsFindings showed that new media has become a major approach for medical professionals in China to retrieve and get access to various information. However, they still trust traditional media (n = 1001, P < 0.01) and professional journals more (n = 1001, P < 0.01). Internet access, usage, and trust were positively correlated (r = 0.185–0.344, P < 0.01). Regarding usage habits, 47.66% of the participating physicians would practice science popularization through their new media accounts and 71.23% would forward approved health information within their professional realm. A validated instrument can be provided for further related studies. ConclusionsScience popularization is a specific usage of new media among Chinese medical professionals, through which they have achieved new authority and empowered communication because of self-media. To some extent, physician-patient relationships in China can be improved because this online interaction is conducive to building harmonious and lasting offline physician-patient relationships.

Burnout and Well-Being Among Medical Professionals in China: A National Cross-Sectional Study

Burnout and Well-Being Among Medical Professionals in China: A National Cross-Sectional Study

The current status and the influencing factors of humanistic care ability among a group of medical professionals in Western China.

BACKGROUND: Previous research regarding the humanistic care ability of Chinese medical professionals was limited to small groups of nurses or students. More systemic analyses involving more general medical professionals are scarce and urgently needed.OBJECTIVE: To survey the sense and ability of humanistic care on medical professionals in China and to identify the potential influencing factors.METHODS: A novel scale of humanistic care indicators was developed. Based on the new scale, a questionnaire was designed, tested and used to survey a total of 928 medical professionals recruited from three hospitals in the Chinese Western city Chongqing. Chi-square test was used for single factor analyses. For multiple factor analyses, multivariate logistic regression was performed.RESULTS: Our selected group of medical professionals scored nearly 4 or above on a 1–5 scale for all our query items related to the sense and ability of humanistic care. The main factors affecting humanistic care ability of medical professionals in Chongqing include gender, nature of department/division, modes of employment and participation in humanistic care ability training and so on.CONCLUSIONS: In general, the participants in our study group had a humanistic care ability score lower than the aimed value, suggesting that the ability of humanistic care of these medical professional was not satisfactory. The study also shows that one effective way to enhance the humanistic care ability is to provide more targeted training.

GW29-e0811 Depression and Anxiety in Health-care Professionals in A Tertiary University Hospital in Luoyang, Henan Province: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Distress in medical workers is very common, which has been associated with negative effects on patient care. Though mental health condition of medical professionals in China has gradually been taken seriously, it is still under recognized. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of

TOWARD HEALING AND RESTORATION AGAINST MEDICAL DISTURBANCE ( YINAO ) IN CHINA: RECONSIDERATIONS AND PROSPECTS OF RESPONSIBILITY SEARCH AND MALPRACTICE RESOLUTION

Imbalanced doctor-patient conflicts and divergences such as healthcare disturbance ( yinao ) significantly undermine the already-weakened mutual trust and lead to further deterioration of workplace safety and environment for medical professionals in China. China has to implement all sorts of efforts to cut off the hostile settings where medical disturbances are rooted and developed. Such measures should at least include sufficient remedies provided by medical insurance, refined administrative mediation mechanism, better workplace protective systems in medical institutions, and more importantly, a full-pledged framework with enforceable rules to circumvent medical disturbances and resolving medical accidents. It is necessary to stipulate administrative, civil and criminal measures to punish medical disturbers while guaranteeing medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and supporting staffs due secured medical practice. In particular, a third-party dispute resolution mechanism, an improved appraisal platform and protection of confidential information of patients and doctors should be implemented in due course. In addition to a more refined legal framework, the social, cultural and professional settings of medical practice should also be further improved by removing “revenge” attacks on Chinese hospital professionals.

Corruption or professional dignity: An ethical examination of the phenomenon of "red envelopes" (monetary gifts) in medical practice in China.

In the medical practice in China, giving and taking "red envelopes" (monetary gifts) is a common phenomenon although few openly admit it. This paper, based on our empirical study including data collected from interviews and questionnaires with medical professionals and patients, attempts to explore why "red envelopes" have become a serious problem in the physician-patient relationship and how the situation can be improved. Previous studies show that scholars tend to correlate the spread of "red envelopes" in health care sector to the commercialization trend, the general erosion of traditional values, and the lowering of the moral level in the medical field. However, in this paper, the authors argue that medical professionals' choice of taking "red envelopes" is actually more a way to compensate for their problematic self-image and marred dignity in real practice. Medical professionals in China as a whole are in an embarrassing situation where the work pressure and income, and the sense of pride that used to be part of their profession are not comparable to each other. Under this circumstance, we believe that the effective way to deal with the "red envelopes" issue does not lie solely in introducing more stringent regulations or granting medical professionals higher payments, but rather in protecting and enhancing the professional dignity of all those working in healthcare. And on top of that, there must also be effort to cultivate a more favorable moral environment.

New medical education reform in China: Towards healthy China 2030.

On July 11, 2017, the State Council of China issued a bold plan to revolutionize medical education and promote collaboration between medical education and practice. The cornerstone of the plan is training more qualified medical professionals to improve public healthcare on the path to Healthy China 2030. According to this plan, a "5+3" training system will be instituted to train medical professionals in China, and top medical colleges will be encouraged to recruit more students. However, given the less-than-ideal professional status of Chinese doctors, the frequent incidents of violence against them, long working hours and a heavy workload, and an unsatisfactory income, attracting personnel to work in medicine and health care has become a challenge. Prior to the end of 2016, there were 3.19 million practicing (assistant) physicians in China, amount to 2.31 per thousand population. The average workload of physicians was 7.3 outpatient visits per day and 2.6 beds per day, and these figures are much higher for physicians working in tertiary hospitals. Studies have found that 78% of physicians work more than 8 hours a day and 7% of physicians work more than 12 hours a day, but the average annual income of physicians in 2015 was 77,000 yuan (about $12,360), in contrast to an average annual income of $294,000 for physicians in the United States. Medical humanities education is also emphasized by the new medical education reform to foster the humanistic spirts of medical students in order to improve public healthcare in China. In the face of a mindset that "medical technology comes first" and growing expectations among the public, public education is needed to provide the public with a more comprehensive view by explaining the limitations of modern medicine since "medicine is not a panacea". Additional efforts should be undertaken by the Government, organizations, physicians, patients, and the public to create a virtuous cycle of healthcare in China.

Investigation of the research publications of the medical professionals in China

Chinese Association for Science and Technology in conjunction with Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and Beijing Science and Technology Consulting Center carried out a survey of the research publications by science and technology professionals in China in year 2014. Based on the overall survey data, we selected the group of medical professionals, including medical organization personal according to the classification of different types of units and health care personals according to the job type,and analyzed the status of research publications, including the number of papers published, motivation, stress, evaluation mechanisms, journal selection, and compared with other classification groups. Key words: Chinese medical worker; Research papers; Investigation

A Study on Workplace Violence and Its Effect on Quality of Life Among Medical Professionals In China

ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to investigate workplace violence and to examine how it is associated with quality of life (QOL) among medical professionals in China. A total of 2,464 medical professionals were selected from Fujian Province and Henan Province by using stratified cluster-sampling method. A Chinese version of the workplace violence scale was used to measure the incidence of workplace violence. The Short Form-36 Health Survey was employed to assess their QOL. Approximately 50% of the participants reported at least one type of workplace violence occurring in the previous 12 months. The multivariate analysis demonstrated workplace violence as a significant predictor for QOL among medical professionals, after controlling for other potential predictors. It suggests that the implementation of violence prevention policies and strategies to reduce workplace violence may improve QOL of medical professionals in China.

Workplace violence and influencing factors among medical professionals in China

Workplace violence has attracted increasing public attention over the past few decades in China. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of workplace violence in healthcare settings by various job titles and hospital departments, and to explore the related risk factors among Chinese medical professionals. A total of 2,464 medical professionals in 12 hospitals of two provinces were surveyed by using a stratified cluster sampling method. The Chinese version of the Workplace Violence Scale was used to measure the frequencies of workplace violence, classified as physical assault, emotional abuse, threat of assault, verbal sexual harassment and sexual assault experienced by the subjects over the previous 12 months. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect information on potentially influencing factors for workplace violence. Multivariate analysis was applied to determine the risk factors for workplace violence. About 50% of study subjects reported at least one type of workplace violence. The rates of experiencing two episodes or more of physical assault, emotional abuse, threat of assault, verbal sexual harassment, and sexual assault were 11%, 26%, 12%, 3%, and 1%, respectively. Identified risk factors for workplace violence included working in the departments of psychiatry, emergency, pediatrics and surgery, male gender, divorce/widowed status, long working hours (≥10 hr/day), and night shift. The study suggested that workplace violence occurs commonly in Chinese healthcare settings. Effective intervention strategies targeting workplace violence should be formulated in terms of major risk factors.

Quality of life and its influencing factors among medical professionals in China

The present study is to evaluate quality of life (QOL) among Chinese medical professionals and explore its main influencing factors. A total of 2,721 medical professionals were selected from two provinces by using stratified cluster sampling method. The Chinese version of Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure QOL; Occupation Stress Inventory-Revised Edition (OSI-R) was used for occupational stress and coping resources. Other potential influencing factors for QOL were collected using a structured questionnaire. Multivariate analysis approach was applied to determine the influencing factors for QOL. QOL in the medical professionals was less desirable in comparison with the general population. Occupational stress, long working hour, occupation (being nurse), department (working in surgery) were unfavorable factors for PCS and MCS, and recreation, performance recognized, drinking and physical activity were protective factors for PCS, while rational coping, recreation, social support, performance recognized, drinking and physical activity were favorable factors for MCS. The results suggest that occupational factors, behavioral factors and coping resources, as well as age, play significant roles in QOL in the medical professionals. Accordingly, interventional program designed to target relieving occupational stress, adjusting behavioral habits and increasing coping resources may be useful to improve QOL among medical professionals.

Feeding practice of infants and their correlates in urban areas of Beijing, China.

Optimal feeding practice in the first year of life is crucial for the survival and health of infants, and has long-term consequences in later life. However, non-optimal feeding practices exist widely. The present study aims to explore various constraints to optimal feeding practices in the first year of life of infants in urban areas of Beijing, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban areas of Beijing from 4 July to 20 August, 1998. Two hundred and fifty-one mothers of infants aged 6-12 months were chosen from six child health centers in three different urban districts in Beijing. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data regarding feeding practices and potentially related factors. Feeding practice for most of the infants was in accordance with the national and international recommendations. However, the rate of incidence of exclusive breast-feeding at 3 months of age was lower than that recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (55.8%), and the introduction of solid/semisolid food before 4 months of age was found in approximately 19.3% of the infants. Cow's milk was given to 21.2% of infants from 6 months of age as the sole source of milk or as a supplement. Maternal education level (OR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.42-4.19, P < 0.05), employment (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.13-3.74, P < 0.05) and antenatal nonexclusive breast-feeding plans (OR = 4.10, 95% CI: 2.24-7.50, P < 0.001) were found to be correlated to inappropriate feeding practices. The feeding practices for most of the urban infants was found to be in accordance with the Chinese government and WHO recommendations; however, non-optimal feeding practices presenting as the early cessation of breast-feeding and the introduction of solid/semisolid foods existed. Information regarding optimal feeding practices should be disseminated to mothers and medical professionals in China, to ensure optimal infant health.