The Lancet (china Series)

摘要

It is a measure of the importance of China's health system and public health that The Lancet has dedicated a series of papers to it. And the introductory "Comment" to the series sets out the importance of China for global health: China accounts for one fifth of the world's population; it is a major source of health innovation; it is "a major contributor in the control and spread of global health risks" as its participation in trade grows; and its health system is now extending globally, notably through its influence in the World Health Organization (WHO) and in sending health teams to Africa. The series consists of seven main papers on "Health system reform in China," and 12 short "Comment" pieces. Together these provide readers with an up-to-date and wide-ranging picture of China's most important public health problems and a sense of the key issues facing the health system. The papers draw - though not necessarily very systematically - on some of the latest data and research. The Comments provide brief but illuminating summaries on important related issues, including biomedical science and technology, the current role of traditional Chinese medicine, reproductive health, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, schistosomiasis control, barefoot doctors; medical research ethics, government policy and organ transplantation, and internal migration and health. There is a fascinating brief anthropological account of why smoking is so prevalent among Chinese men and rare among women.