A Comprehensive Evaluation of Township Hospitals in the Severely Cold Areas of China

HERD. 2021 Oct;14(4):93-113. doi: 10.1177/19375867211010268. Epub 2021 May 18.

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study are to establish an evaluation system and find the existing problems in the architectural design of township hospitals in the severely cold regions of China.

Background: Due to the geographical location and economic factors, development still has some key problems, such as inadequate construction, old facilities, and backward technology, which are more prominent in the severely cold regions.

Methods: First, evaluation factors have been selected and determined by literature review and on-site investigation. Evaluation rules have been determined using fuzzy membership function. Then, the analytic hierarchy process is used to determine the weights of the evaluation factors at all levels. Finally, take a township hospital as an example to calculate the comprehensive evaluation results.

Results: A comprehensive evaluation index system with 28 elements and 76 factors for the township hospitals in severely cold regions including the basic health service capacity, the emergency capacity, and the climate fitness.

Conclusions: The establishment of the comprehensive evaluation system of township hospitals in severely cold areas in this study aims to find out the problems through the evaluation of the existing township hospitals in the severely cold areas and provide guidance for the transformation of existing township hospitals in the severely cold areas. By comparing the scheme evaluation for building hospitals, we shall look for the optimal solution to provide reference for future development in the construction of township hospitals.

Keywords: cold region; fuzzy comprehensive evaluation; township hospitals.

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Hospitals*
  • Humans