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Disease pattern and chronic illness in rural C hina: The H ong K ong R ed C ross basic health clinic after 2008 S ichuan earthquake
Author(s) -
Hung Kevin KC,
Lam Eva CC,
Chan Emily YY,
Graham Colin A
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
emergency medicine australasia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1742-6723
pISSN - 1742-6731
DOI - 10.1111/1742-6723.12080
Subject(s) - medicine , exacerbation , disease , health care , gerontology , family medicine , emergency medicine , economics , economic growth
Background Medical teams might have difficulties preparing for deployment to rural towns due to a lack of prior information. The study objective was to identify the health needs and chronic disease prevalence of rural C hinese following a major earthquake. Methods H ong K ong R ed C ross organised a basic healthcare team to Y anmen town, J iangyou 3 weeks after the 2008 S ichuan earthquake. A cross‐sectional records‐based study of all patients treated by the H ong K ong R ed C ross basic healthcare team from 1 J une to 19 J une 2008 was conducted. Results Two thousand and thirty‐four individual patient encounters occurred during the 19‐day period. Musculoskeletal, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems were the top three categories and accounted for 30.4%, 17.4% and 12.7%, respectively. The 43.4% of the 762 patients with blood pressure measurements were above the recognised criteria for hypertension. Conclusions We identified that the management of chronic diseases was an important issue, especially with the high prevalence of hypertension found in our study. Medical responders need to be aware of the potential pre‐existing disease burden in the community, with the possible exacerbation in post‐disaster situations. Careful planning on the use of treatment guidelines with particular focus on the local health resources available and issues with continuation of care will provide better care for the patients.