Background Medical students in China face severe depression and anxiety because of their difficult circumstances, such as the long length of schooling, academic pressure, and the stress of clinical practice. Although there have been many empirical studies about depression or anxiety in medical students in China, no previous studies have conducted a related systematic review about this topic in English. This analysis can convey the general findings from China to other areas of the world. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of depression or anxiety in medical students and related determinants were conducted. Three Chinese and three English databases were searched for the review, with no restrictions on language. Articles published between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2018 were included. Results Twenty-one articles investigating a total of 35,160 individual Chinese medical students were included in this review. The prevalence of depression ranged from 13.10 to 76.21% with a mean of 32.74%, and the prevalence of anxiety ranged from 8.54 to 88.30% with a mean of 27.22%. Based on the meta-analysis, gender, grade level, residence, satisfaction with current major and monthly household income per capita were significantly associated with depression. Grade level and satisfaction with current major were significantly associated with anxiety. Other risk factors were identified and described using a narrative approach. Conclusion The mean prevalence of depression was 32.74% amongst medical students in China, whereas the mean prevalence of anxiety was 27.22%. The determinants of depression and anxiety included individual factors, social and economic factors, and environmental factors. More measures should be taken towards at-risk medical students based on the identified risk factors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1744-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Novel magnetic biochars (MBC) were prepared by one-step pyrolysis of FeCl-laden biomass and employed for Hg removal in simulated combustion flue gas. The sample characterization indicated that highly dispersed FeO particles could be deposited on the MBC surface. Both enhanced surface area and excellent magnetization property were obtained. With the activation of FeCl, more oxygen-rich functional groups were formed on the MBC, especially the C═O group. The MBC exhibited far greater Hg removal performance compared to the nonmagnetic biochar (NMBC) under N + 4% O atmosphere in a wide reaction temperature window (120-250 °C). The optimal pyrolysis temperature for the preparation of MBC is 600 °C, and the best FeCl/biomass impregnation mass ratio is 1.5 g/g. At the optimal temperature (120 °C), the FeMBC was superior in both Hg adsorption capacity and adsorption rate to a commercial brominated activated carbon (Br-AC) used for mercury removal in power plants. The mechanism of Hg removal was proposed, and there are two types of active adsorption/oxidation sites for Hg: FeO and oxygen-rich functional groups. The role of FeO in Hg removal was attributed to the Fe(t) coordination and lattice oxygen. The C═O group could act as act as electron acceptors, facilitating the electron transfer for Hg oxidation.

BackgroundHealth workforce turnover remains a global concern, particularly in rural and remote areas. Western rural areas are the least developed in China, where it faces the serious challenge on the rural health worker (RHW) management. This study aimed to investigate job satisfaction, work stress, and turnover intentions of RHWs, and to explore prominent factors associated with turnover intentions of RHWs in rural western China.MethodsFrom June to September 2013, based on a three-stage random sampling method, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among RHWs in 11 western provinces in China. A brief, structured questionnaire filled in by RHWs was used for data collection. A total of 5046 RHWs participated in the study. The response rate was approximately 93.1%. Exploratory factor analyses, Pearson’s chi-squared tests, one-way ANOVA, binary logistic regression analyses, and mediating effect tests were performed for data analyses.ResultsApproximately 29.1% of the 5046 RHWs indicated turnover intentions. Most of the RHWs disclosed low educational levels, income levels, and professional technical titles. The RHWs expressed slight job satisfaction (mean 3.20) and moderate work stress (mean 3.22). Age, income, medical institution, and job satisfaction (i.e., organizational management, reward, and occupation satisfaction) were significant predictors of the RHWs’ turnover intentions. The RHWs, who were younger (less than 41 years), receiving an income of $326.8–$490.1 per month, working in township hospitals, and having low job satisfaction, were more likely to have turnover intentions. Work stress had an indirect and positive effect on RHWs’ turnover intentions. Job satisfaction weakened the positive effect of work stress on turnover intentions of RHWs by playing a total mediating role. Reward satisfaction was the strongest mediator.ConclusionsThe turnover intentions of RHWs in western China are significantly associated with job satisfaction, work stress, age, income, and medical institution. Appropriate strategies should be implemented to improve RHWs’ job satisfaction and reduce their work stress. Meanwhile, providing more attractive wages and non-monetary support, improving working conditions, etc. could be effective to reduction in RHWs’ turnover intentions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12875-019-0904-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectivesTo analyse the prevalence and determinants of turnover intention (TI) among primary health workers (PHWs) in China to provide evidence for improving retention measures.DesignSystemic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesFour English-language databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO) and three Chinese databases (CNKI, CSPD, CBM) were searched up to October 2019.Eligibility criteriaEligible studies were observational or descriptive studies conducted in mainland China. The prevalence of TI among health workers and related factors had to be explicitly reported in each included study.Data extraction and synthesisData were extracted by one author and reviewed independently by two other authors. For each factor analysed by a meta-analysis, the factor was required to be the same across different studies, and at least three studies had to include it. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic.ResultsWe identified 16 cross-sectional studies investigating a total of 37 672 PHWs. The prevalence of TI was 30.4%. Subgroup analysis revealed that the highest prevalence was observed in the community primary healthcare institutions and the eastern provinces of China. Meta-analyses indicated that 21 factors were significantly associated with TI, including demographic factors (gender, age, education, marital status), job characteristic factors (title, work seniority, remuneration, social status, organisational affiliation, work stress) and job satisfaction factors (learning and training opportunity, interpersonal relationship, work condition and environment, and so on).ConclusionThis study highlights the problem of TI among PHWs in China. Efforts should be made to improve conditions in both work-related areas and areas outside of work. Policymakers should continue to improve reward systems, the construction of infrastructure and promotion systems, and pay more attention to PHWs’ lives outside of work and meet their living needs.