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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Health Economics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1474164

Perceived benefits, costs, and relationships on provincial doctors' inclination to participate in urban-rural medical consortia in Central China: A social exchange theory perspective

Provisionally accepted
Bowen Zhang Bowen Zhang 1Liang Ma Liang Ma 1Wenjie Ma Wenjie Ma 1Dingding Kang Dingding Kang 1Yi Qing Mao Yi Qing Mao 1,2,3*
  • 1 The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 2 College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 3 Institute for Hospital Management of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective This study aims to investigate the perceived benefits, costs, and relationships that influence doctors' inclination to participate in urban-rural medical consortia (URMC).Furthermore, the study analyzes how perceived relationships moderate the impact of perceived benefits and costs on the inclination to take part in URMC.Methods The study was conducted between September 2022 and June 2023 utilizing an online survey in Henan Province, Central China, which included 749 respondents from provincial hospitals. Chi-square and hierarchical logistic regressions were used to determine the perceived factors of the participants' inclination.Results The study indicated that 85.4% doctors demonstrated a strong inclination to participate. Doctors who perceived significant financial benefits, non-financial benefits, and relationships had a high level of inclination to participate. Doctors who perceived high executive costs and technical costs were less likely to express a high level of inclination to participate. When doctors perceived a strong relationship, the influence of perceived non-financial benefits on their inclination to participate tended to be weaker. Conclusion This study enhances the understanding of physicians' motivations for participating in URMC and may inform program leadership and policymakers concerned with developing or enhancing rural medical services. It is essential for managers to enhance incentive mechanisms, strive to minimize both actual and perceived costs, and facilitate the establishment of high-quality professional relationships between provincial physicians and their counterparts in county-level healthcare institutions.

    Keywords: social exchange theory, Perceived benefits, Perceived costs, Perceived relationships, Inclination to participate

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Ma, Ma, Kang and Mao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yi Qing Mao, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

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