Trends in Avoidable Hospitalizations Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multiple Cross-Sectional Study Using Administrative Data From Beijing, China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Avoidable hospitalizations (AHs) have been widely used in high-income countries as a proxy indicator for the quality of primary care. However, it is rarely evaluated in low- and middle-income countries such as China. Studies examining changes in AHs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are also limited. The appropriateness of AHs as an indicator measuring primary care quality under pandemic conditions has not been well discussed.

Objective

This study aims to describe trends in AHs in Beijing, China, during both the prepandemic (2016-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) periods and examine factors associated with AH rates.

Methods

We used hospital discharge data of Beijing residents between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021. We identified AH cases from all

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12244741 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature