title: The development of urban community health centres for strengthening primary care in China: a systematic literature review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This review outlines the development of China's primary care system, with implications for improving equitable health care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Government documents, official statistics, and recent literature identified through systematic searches performed on NCBI PubMed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Community health centres (CHCs) are being developed as the major primary care provider in urban China, with laudable achievements. The road towards a strong primary care-led system is promising but challenging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The effectiveness in improving equitable care through the expansion of primary care workforce and redesign of the social medical insurance system warrants further exploration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Healthcare disparities exist in the health system wherein universal health coverage and gatekeepers have not yet been established.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future prospective studies should aim to provide solutions for strengthening the leading role of CHCs in providing equitable care in response to population ageing and multimorbidity challenges.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, P.R. China JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 9LX, UK.
authors.forename: Harry H X
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510182, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jia Ji
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong yeungshanwong@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Samuel Y S
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Martin C S
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 9LX, UK.
authors.forename: Stewart W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Mercer
authors.affiliation: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Sian M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: community health centres; equitable care; multimorbidity; organizational models; patients' experiences; primary care; service provision