Keywords
Primary healthcare
Workforce development
Health policy
China
Submitted : 2026-02-11
Accepted : 2026-02-26
Published : 2026-03-13
Abstract
To investigate the current status of general practitioners (GPs) in primary medical institutions in Xinyi City, China, identify challenges, and propose evidence-based recommendations for workforce development. A mixed-methods approach combined a questionnaire survey of 100 residents, semi-structured interviews with 28 healthcare professionals, and analysis of secondary data from the Xinyi Health Commission. GPs in Xinyi face low educational attainment (76% with secondary education), an imbalanced urban-rural distribution (6.8 per 100,000 population), a “new-old transition” workforce (79% aged 27–42), inadequate compensation (60% of county hospital physicians’ income), and limited public awareness (only 25% familiar with GPs). Urgent comprehensive strategies are needed to strengthen GP training, improve incentives, enhance public awareness, and promote balanced distribution to build a stable, high-quality GP workforce for effective primary healthcare.
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