The Implications of Health Care Access on Diagnosis and Health Outcomes in China (2014)

Undergraduate: Arthur Guyton

Faculty Advisor: David Guilkey
Department: Economics

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Although health care access in China has improved in the past thirty years, there are still problems for many potential patients in the population. Health care access is important for chronic diseases such as digestive diseases and cardiovascular diseases because knowing one¿s diagnosis allows one to change habits that have been shown to decrease severity of disease. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this study looks at the impact that different health care access factors have on a patient¿s ability to get a diagnosis. It will also address whether that diagnosis will translate into a change of habits for the person in terms of nutrition and physical activity. The study will use simultaneous equations to investigate the effects at each stage. Previous literature has not looked at the ability to get a diagnosis or the diagnosis¿s effect on a person¿s habits. Further estimation is still required, but the current findings suggest that health care access does affect one¿s ability to get a diagnosis.