SWOT Analysis on the Construction of Hospice Care Demonstration Center Under the Hierarchical Medical System in Southwest China

Abstract

Due to the influence of various factors, the development of hospice care in China is very slow, and the quality of life while dying in patients with critical illness is low. At present, the management of chronic diseases under the hierarchical medical system has achieved good results in China, but to date, there is no report on the implementation of hospice care services under the hierarchical medical system. The purpose of this study is to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of establishing a "hospital-community-home" linked hospice care demonstration center under the hierarchical medical system in Southwest China. Based on the baseline survey, the SWOT analysis method was used for analysis. In all, there are 26 medical institutions of different levels, including 440 medical staff and 650 community-dwelling elderly take part in the quantitative research, and 24 related professionals participated in the panel discussion. We came to the conclusion that under the hierarchical medical system, a "hospital-community-home" linked hospice care demonstration center has the following opportunities when initiating hospice care activities in Southwest China: effective integration of resources, diversification of demand, policy support, positive attitude of medical staffs, etc. However, the lack of laws and regulations, the imperfect social security system, the lack of public awareness, and the lack of institutional operation and certification standards of practitioners are challenges when building such centers.

Adhering to the Health China Strategy and Sharing the Fruits of Health Equity

“…In 2021, China's total number of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) medical and health institutions increased by 4981 over the previous year, reaching 77 4). [10] Note: Chinese medicine clinical departments include TCM specialties, Chinese and Western medicine, and ethnic medicine.…”