Browsing by Person "Chen, Wen"

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Association between health service utilisation of internal migrant children and parents' acculturation in Guangdong, China: a cross-sectional study
(BMJ Publishing Group, 2018-01-13) Peng, Bo-li; Zou, Guanyang; Chen, Wen; Lin, Yan-wei; Ling, Li
Objectives To assess the health service utilisation of internal migrant children in Guangdong, China, and to explore the association between children's health service utilisation and their parents' acculturation. Design Cross-sectional survey between April and May 2016. Setting Six society-run schools of Tianhe and Baiyun districts in Guangzhou City of China. Participants We recruited all students at grade 7 or 8 and one of their parents who resided in Guangzhou over 6 months without permanent registered residence (hukou) in Guangzhou (1161 pairs completed this survey). 258 children were ill within the past 2 weeks or during the last year. Main outcome measures The main outcome was self-reported health service utilisation. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the association between children's unmet needs for outpatient or inpatient service and their parents' acculturation (categorised into high, middle and low groups). Results In total, 216 children, or 18.6% of the total subjects, were ill within the past 2 weeks and were in need of outpatient service; 94 children, or 8.1% of the total subjects, were in need of inpatient service. Among them, 17.6% and 46.8% of the migrant children had unmet needs for outpatient and inpatient services, respectively. After controlling for enabling resources and predisposing characteristics, migrant children with parents in the middle-acculturation group (adjusted OR=3.17, 95% CIs 1.2 to 8.3, P<0.05) were more likely to have an unmet outpatient need than high-acculturation or low-acculturation groups, although only statistically significant when comparing with the high-acculturation group. Stratified analysis suggested that this association could be moderated by their family economic status. Conclusions Our study suggested that the association between migrant children's health service utilisation and their parents' acculturation was complex and could be moderated by family economic status. Increasing the service utilisation among migrant children requires improving the acculturation and economic status of the parents of internal migrants.
Health service utilisation of rural-to-urban migrants in Guangzhou, China: does employment status matter?
(Wiley, 2016-11-17) Song, Xiaolei; Zou, Guanyang; Chen, Wen; Han, Siqi; Zou, Xia; Ling, Li
Objective: To describe the self-reported health status and service utilisation of employed, retired and unemployed migrants in Guangzhou, a megacity in southern China. Methods: A cross-sectional study adapted from the National Health Service Survey was conducted between September and December in 2014. Based on the distribution of occupation of migrants, multistage sampling was used to recruit individuals. Logistic regression was applied to explore the factors influencing their service utilisation. Results: Of 2906 respondents, 76.6% were employed, 9.2% retired and 14.2% unemployed. Only 8.1% reported having an illness in the previous 2 weeks, and 6.5% reported having been hospitalised in the previous year. Employed migrants had the lowest recent physician consultation rate (3.4%) and the lowest annual hospitalisation rate (4.5%) (P < 0.05); unemployed migrants had the highest rates (6.8% and 14.5% respectively, P < 0.05). Retired migrants were more likely to return to their hometown for health care (8.6%) than employed (1.5%) and unemployed migrants (3.4%) (P < 0.05). After adjusting for age and gender, employment status remained significant in explaining the recent two-week treatment-seeking behaviour of migrants (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Disparity of service utilisation continues to be a problem for migrants due to the poor health awareness, lack of time and inconvenience of medical insurance reimbursement. Employed migrants make the least use of health services. 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Results of a cluster randomized controlled trial to promote the use of respiratory protective equipment among migrant workers exposed to organic solvents in small and medium-sized enterprises
(MDPI, 2019-08-31) Chen, Wen; Li, Tongyang; Zou, Guanyang; Renzaho, Andre M. N.; Li, Xudong; Shi, Leiyu; Ling, Li
Background: Existing evidence shows an urgent need to improve respiratory protective equipment (RPE) use, and more so among migrant workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a behavioral intervention in promoting the appropriate use of RPE among internal migrant workers (IMWs) exposed to organic solvents in SMEs. Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted among 1211 IMWs from 60 SMEs in Baiyun district in Guangzhou, China. SMEs were deemed eligible if organic solvents were constantly used in the production process and provided workers with RPE. There were 60 SMEs randomized to three interventions on a 1:1:1 ratio, namely a top-down intervention (TDI), a comprehensive intervention, and a control group which did not receive any intervention. IMWs in the comprehensive intervention received a module encompassing three intervention activities: An occupational health education and training component (lectures and leaflets/posters), an mHealth component in the form of messages illustrative pictures and short videos, and a peer education component. The TDI incorporated two intervention activities, namely the mHealth and occupational health education and training components. The primary outcome was the self-reported appropriate RPE use among IMWs, defined as using an appropriate RPE against organic solvents at all times during the last week before measurement. Secondary outcomes included IMWs’ occupational health knowledge, attitude towards RPE use, and participation in occupational health check-ups. Data were collected and assessed at baseline, and three and six months of the intervention. Generalized linear mixed models were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the trial. Results: Between 3 August 2015 and 29 January 2016, 20 SMEs with 368 IMWs, 20 SMEs with 390 IMWs, and 20 SMEs with 453 IMWs were assigned to the comprehensive intervention, the TDI, and the control group, respectively. At three months, there were no significant differences in the primary and secondary outcomes among the three groups. At six months, IMWs in both intervention groups were more likely to appropriately use RPE than the control group (comprehensive intervention: Adjusted odds ratio: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.75–5.10, p < 0.001; TDI: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.17–3.11, and p = 0.009). Additionally, compared with the control group, the comprehensive intervention also improved all three secondary outcomes. Conclusions: Both comprehensive and top-down interventions were effective in promoting the appropriate use of RPE among IMWs in SMEs. The comprehensive intervention also enhanced IMWs’ occupational health knowledge, attitude, and practice. Trial registration: ChiCTR-IOR-15006929. Registered on 15 August 2015.
Self-reported illnesses and service utilisation among migrants working in small-to medium sized enterprises in Guangdong, China
(Science Direct, 2015-07) Zou, Guanyang; Zeng, Z.; Chen, Wen; Ling, Li
Objectives: As one of the most vulnerable populations in China, many migrants work in the small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to describe the self-reported illnesses and service utilization of the migrants working in the SMEs in Pearl River Delta Areas (PRDA) of Guangdong province, China. Study design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: We interviewed 856 migrants working in the SMEs of different manufacturing industries in 2012. Descriptive analysis was employed to report self-reported illnesses and service utilisation among migrants in the last two weeks and in the last year. Statistical tests such as 2 test were used to explore factors influencing their service utilisation. Results: In the last two weeks, 91(11%) of the respondents reported having any illness. The most reported illness was respiratory problem (69%), while 9.9%, 7.7% and 13% reported having digestive, skin and other problems respectively. The most important symptom was cough (39%). Thirty-seven percent of the respondents who reported any illness had visited health facilities. The lower income group were more likely to visit health facilities than the higher income group (P=0.006). The most reported reason for not visiting health facilities was 'feeling not serious' (65%). In the last year, 13% reported having respiratory problems and 7.8% reported accidental injuries. Less than 3% received hospitalization care. The proportion of those without hospitalization to those who should have been hospitalized was 31%. Conclusion: Underuse of the health service among migrants working in the SMEs could be associated with the 'healthy migrant' effect. However, when assessed among the ill migrants in the SMEs, the utilisation rate was still low mainly due to their poor health awareness. Improving their risk perception and integration of occupational and general health service is crucial to improve the health conditions and utilisation of service among migrants in the SMES. 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health.