Dr. Samuel D. Towne, Jr.

Changing Health Habits in China

By: Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala on

Changing habits, especially when it comes to accessing health care, is a challenge. China is embarking on this road as it attempts to make health care more accessible to rural populations.

Samuel D. Towne Jr., PhD, an assistant professor of health management and informatics and part of UCF’s Disability, Aging & Technology Faculty Cluster Initiative, co-authored a study looking at patients across the lifespan in a region of China and their attitudes and habits in accessing medical care. The study’s recommendations may be helpful in advising policymakers in other nations about how to shift behavior.

The study was published this month in the journal Medicine. Co-authors include faculty at the School of Health Sciences at Wuhan University in China.

Most of those surveyed in the study preferred to travel to larger hospitals, even if it meant policymakers greater distances, instead of seeking primary care in smaller sub-unit facilities (e.g., in rural locations). This has led to overtaxing of big hospitals and their personnel, even for what some consider to be primary care. The Chinese government is implementing a new National Hierarchical Medical System (NHMS) and has launched many relevant policies to direct patients to more regional practitioners for medical care, where appropriate.

Towne and his team assessed the status of and factors related to the establishment of the NHMS among outpatients in the most advanced provincial tertiary hospitals in the Jiangxi Provence in China.

“We sought to identify factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to seeking care that may help inform both practice and policy in China,” Towne said. “Similar methods of assessment may be of use in other countries, and as such, the current study may play a role in informing future study in other similar countries as well.”

Share This Article

Featured Content image

UCF Graduate Students Face the Challenge to Present Their Research in Under Three Minutes

Communicating complicated concepts in simple terms can be quite challenging —especially when you only have 180 seconds to do it. Explaining the complexities of a research or creative project to...

Read More

Featured Content image

Graduate Program Seminar, Workshop or Conference Support Available

To augment educational opportunities, the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) will award up to $2,500 per academic year to support department seminars, special workshops, or conferences designed to bring in...

Read More

Featured Content image

Explore UCF’s Top-tier Graduate Programs at Grad Fair

Pursuing a graduate degree is a major decision that can significantly impact your life. A graduate degree can boost professional prospects, open doors to new opportunities, and help you become...

Read More

Featured Content image

Graduating Kenyan Artist Uses Work to Advocate for Change

As an artist, Njeri Kinuthia draws ample creative inspiration from her life. Having grown up in a small village in rural Kenya, the emerging media MFA with a track in studio...

Read More