Investigation of Three Years Outpatient Volume and Influencing Factors in Community Health Centers in Six Cities

［Abstract］Objectives　To know the changing situation of outpatient volume（OV）and influencing factors in community health centers（CHC）of three models in six cities in Pearl River Delta（PRD）．Methods　 Triangulation method involves in-depth interview，self-reported structure questionnaire and government documents and webs review．Qualitative data was analyzed by thematic framework，and quantitative data was analyzed by descriptive statistical method，regression and correlation．Results　The average increasing rate of OV in three models CHC from 2008 to 2010 were 16.76%，42.36% and 422.75%，respectively，and from 2009 to 2010年were 11.99%，52.05%，and 58.55%，respectively．The OV in CHC from 2008 to 2010 may not be influenced by average charge at the outpatient（P＞0.09），fund type（P＞0.05）；The OV in CHC of 2010 may be influenced by the number of college-educated employees in CHC（P＜0.01），the number of doctors（P＜0.01）．The policy of improving reimbursement ratio for those who first contacted CHC if sick has developed outpatient volume during three years．Majority patient interviewees demonstrated that CHC has been confirmed by residents．Conclusions　The government-funded CHC has advantages on OV increase．HI policy can lead a positive role for CHC development. The role of CHC at first contacting has gradually been confirmed