From economic development to public health improvement: China faces equity challenges

In the past three decades China has been going through a period of rapid economic growth, which has had profound repercussions for the nation’s public health system. Prior to the current health reforms much of the population was left uninsured and facing high financial risk from inadequate healthcare, with especially deep divisions between the urban and rural populations, which continues to pose a huge challenge to health equity and social justice. This paper explores the relationship between economic development and public health and discusses a series of health disparity issues that are emerging in China. These include: (1) health risk and access to care issues among unregistered urban populations (i.e. migrants); (2) low recognition of mental health, and the stigma associated with people with mental illness or communicable disease; and (3) challenges to the traditional system of family care for the elderly, as younger generations migrate to the cities and the remaining rural population ages. Implications for government policy and action to address these issues and improve public health as well as equity are discussed.