Hematologic health services and practical characteristics: report of a nationwide survey among Chinese hematologists.

BACKGROUND: In the past 40 years, China has experienced tremendous economic development, but the current situation of hematologists has rarely been reported. A landscape survey of human resources is essential for healthcare development and policy formulation in the future.

METHODS: The Chinese Society of Hematology initiated a survey of Chinese hematologists in mainland China for evaluating demographic and practice characteristics. Respondents were anonymous, and there were no limitations regarding their age, sex, etc. RESULTS: Totally 2032 hematologists responded, with a median age bracket of 36-45 years. Respondents were well engaged into subspecialties, and 28.1% acquired doctorates of philosophy. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) centers have been established all over China. Higher-GDP regions reported more advantages, including bigger scale of transplant centers (P < 0.001), younger age structure (P = 0.039), better education qualifications (P = 0.001) and less turnover intentions (P = 0.004), despite of increased risk of medical disputes (P = 0.028). Although females accounted for 65.5% of hematologists, males were older (P < 0.001), and had more senior professional titles (P < 0.001), academic positions (P < 0.001), opportunities for continuing education (P < 0.001), and paper publishing in the recent two years (P = 0.001). For turnover intention, the higher GDP regions led to an independently reduced risk (HR = 0.673, 95%CI [0.482-0.940], P = 0.020), whereas medical disputes resulted in an increased the risk (HR = 2.037, 95%CI [1.513-2.743], P < 0.001). Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, majority of respondents believed that the decline in patient visits and delay in treatment was within 30%. 67.9% of respondents reported a decrease of the use of bone marrow as grafts but 18.8% reported an increase of cord blood units. 35.0% of the respondents switched their daily work to support the anti-epidemic medical activities.

CONCLUSIONS: We concluded the discipline of hematology in China has flourished in recent years with a young workforce, while regional economic and gender disparities warrant further continuous optimization. Joint efforts against the impact of COVID-19 are needed in the post-pandemic era.