Table 1. Main outcomes of interactions with SPs.
| Full Sample | VCs | THCs | County Hospitals (CHs) | P value: | P value: | P value: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VC versus THC | THC versus CH | VC versus CH | |||||
| Patient–provider interactions | 46 | 207 | 21 | ||||
| Patient load (number of patients waiting at time of SP visit) | 0.52 (0.14–0.91) |
1.13 (0.83–1.42) |
— | 0.07 | — | — | |
| Case management | |||||||
| Correctly managed the case § | 41 | 28 | 38 | 90 | 0.388 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| (35–46) | (17–43) | (32–45) | (71–97) | ||||
| Ordered a chest radiograph | 36 | 17 | 35 | 90 | 0.049 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| (31–42) | (9–31) | (29–42) | (71–97) | ||||
| Ordered a sputum smear test | 4 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0.150 | 0.935 | 0.136 |
| (2–7) | (0–8) | (2–8) | (1–23) | ||||
| Referred to other providers | 19 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 0.113 | 0.135 | 0.067 |
| (14–24) | (17–43) | (13–24) | (1–23) | ||||
| Referred to CCDC or DOTs, if referral | 29 | 8 | 38 | 0 | 0.090 | 0.219 | 0.496 |
| (19–43) | (1–33) | (24–54) | -- | ||||
| Referred to city provider, if referral | 10 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0.766 | 0.520 | 0.496 |
| (4–21) | (1–33) | (4–25) | -- | ||||
| Referred to county provider, if referral | 51 | 46 | 51 | 1 | 0.933 | 0.495 | 0.067 |
| (38–64) | (23–71) | (36–67) | (21–100) | ||||
| Referred to town provider, if referral | 10 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0.039 | — | 0.116 |
| (4–21) | (18–64) | — | — | ||||
| Asked patient to return | 11 | 11 | 11 | 19 | 0.763 | 0.234 | 0.180 |
| (8–16) | (5–23) | (7–16) | (8–40) | ||||
| Gave antibiotics and steroid | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.094 | 0.094 | — |
| (3–7) | — | (3–10) | — | ||||
| Gave any antibiotic | 61 | 63 | 65 | 24 | 0.773 | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| (55–67) | (49–75) | (58–71) | (11–45) | ||||
| Gave any fluoroquinolone | 7 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.205 | 0.172 | 0.496 |
| (4–10) | (0–11) | (5–13) | — | ||||
| Gave any steroid | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.071 | 0.219 | — |
| (3–8) | — | (4–11) | — | ||||
| Process | |||||||
| Time with provider (min) | 11.43 | 10.18 | 12.09 | 7.67 | 0.149 | 0.01 | 0.370 |
| (10.56–12.31) | (8.39–11.97) | (11.08–13.11) | (3.96–11.37) | ||||
| Number of questions and examinations (ISTC) | 5.56 | 4.50 | 5.90 | 4.57 | 0.001 | 0.019 | 0.926 |
| (5.26–5.86) | (3.73–5.27) | (5.56–6.24) | (3.58–5.56) | ||||
| % of questions and examinations (ISTC) | 18 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 0.001 | 0.019 | 0.926 |
| (17–19) | (12–17) | (18–20) | (12–18) | ||||
| Number of questions and examinations (China) | 3.98 | 3.11 | 4.19 | 3.76 | 0.001 | 0.373 | 0.124 |
| (3.73–4.23) | (2.5–3.71) | (3.9–4.48) | (2.97–4.55) | ||||
| % of questions and examinations (China) | 22 | 17 | 23 | 21 | 0.001 | 0.373 | 0.124 |
| (21–23) | (14–21) | (22–25) | (17–25) | ||||
| % of essential history checklist asked by provider (Both Standards) | 35 | 26 | 38 | 31 | <0.001 | 0.096 | 0.544 |
| (33–38) | (20–32) | (35–40) | (23–39) | ||||
| Cost of consultation and medicines combined (Chinese Yuan) | 27.18 | 23.45 | 28.01 | 27.19 | 0.266 | 0.898 | 0.640 |
| (23.52–30.84) | (17.07–29.82) | (23.76–32.26) | (7.29–47.09) | ||||
| Cost of consultation and medicines combined (US dollars)* | 4.18 | 3.61 | 4.31 | 4.18 | 0.266 | 0.898 | 0.640 |
| (3.62–4.74) | (2.63–4.59) | (3.66–4.96) | (1.12–7.24) | ||||
| Diagnosis | |||||||
| Mentioned TB | 15 | 04 | 15 | 29 | 0.071 | 0.112 | 0.008 |
| (11–19) | (1–15) | (11–21) | (14–50) |
CCDC, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention; CH, county hopsitals; DOTs, Directly Observed Therapy, short course; ISTC, international standards for tuberculosis care; SP, standardized patient; TB, tuberculosis; THC, township health center; VC, village clinic
Data are % (95% CI) unless otherwise noted.
*$1 = CNY6.5.
§Correctly managed for Tuberculosis is defined as a chest radiograph, sputum test, or referral. "ISTC" is ISTC standard and "China" is China national standard.