Network characteristics of a referral system for patients with hypertension in Western Kenya: results from the Strengthening Referral Networks for Management of Hypertension Across the Health System (STRENGTHS) study

Network characteristics of referrals for chronic disease patients: results from hierarchical medical reform in Shenzhen, China

BACKGROUND

The Chinese government has introduced a series of hierarchical medical policies to ensure continuity of care, but referrals remain difficult to implement effectively. This study aimed to evaluate the chronic disease referral network and explore the problems associated with the specific implementation of referrals.

METHODS

This study was a repeated cross-sectional study of monthly data collected between August 2017 and December 2023 in Luohu district, Shenzhen, China. Social network analysis was used to construct a referral network for chronic disease patients. Density, degree centrality, and betweenness centrality were calculated to assess the relationships and status among different levels of care and their trends.

RESULTS

Over seven years, 104,682 chronic disease patients were referred, with a predominance of downward referrals. The number of upward referrals (Z = 2.5776, Ptrend < 0.01) and downward referrals (Z = 4.7723, Ptrend < 0.001) increased significantly. Primary care facilities (PCFs) were strongly associated with the tertiary hospital (0.51-0.98). The out-degree of all levels of medical institutions showed a significant increasing trend (Ptrend < 0.05). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic did not cause significant level changes in network metrics but accelerated the upward trend in the out-degree of secondary hospitals (P < 0.05). The in-degree of secondary hospitals and PCFs showed a significant increasing trend (Ptrend < 0.01). Public PCFs had significantly higher network metrics compared to private PCFs (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The referral network has a vertical flow pattern conducive to the division of labour, cooperation, and resource integration of medical institutions in the region, and a hierarchical medical order is taking shape. However, poor communication between secondary hospitals and other institutions, high demand for data informatisation, and the gap between private and public PCFs may hinder further progress.

The Challenges of Implementing a Health Referral System in South Africa: A Qualitative Study

Introduction

Health system strengthening efforts also entails streamlining an existing referral system in a particular context to improve quality of health care offered to people. Conceptually, the referral system in South Africa, is seemingly sound. Nevertheless, gaps exist in its implementation. The aim of this study was to explore health care professionals' perceptions of referral system implementation in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

Methods

This qualitative study included 12 health care professionals as participants. Each participant was interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide; with their consent, the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. For data analysis, a thematic content analysis was used.

Results

The participants identified many impediments to the effective implementation of the referral system in BCCM. The main obstacles were deteriorating infrastructure, inadequate staffing, lack of transportation, and inadequate medical supplies and medications.

Conclusion

In mitigation, the participants proposed suggestions such as increasing the capacity of the health workforce, allocating personnel appropriately, increasing the availability of transportation, and providing essential medications to all levels of care. They also suggested involving all stakeholders in the referral process, providing education and training to health professionals on the referral system, and enhancing communication and feedback between the various levels of care. These challenges emphasised in this study highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve the referral system in this setting.