IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v245y2020ics0277953619307129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The weakness of the strong: Examining the squeaky-wheel effect of hospital violence in China

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Junqiang
  • Zhou, Hui
  • Liu, Lingrui
  • Wang, Chunxiao

Abstract

Hospital violence has become a worldwide issue that disturbs health care systems. China is in a particular dilemma between meeting the healthcare demand of 1.39 billion residents and ensuring the safety of 12.3 million health professionals. Drawing on data from an administrative survey, we presented the types and distribution of disruptive behaviors, as well as the summary statistics of 225 medical disputes that took place from 2012 to 2013 in Z city. Logit and OLS regression analyses show that disruptive behaviors, characterized by the number of protest participants and the length of protest, can significantly predict whether the claimant receives compensation and the amount of compensation. All else equal, a one-person increase in the number of participants is associated with 3.94% higher odds of getting compensated, whereas a one-day increase in the length of protest is associated with a 1.03% increase in the odds of receiving compensation. Further analyses show that the link between disruptive behaviors and compensation outcomes is due to the involvement of the state, which tends to press hospitals to pay when substantial violence is present. Chinese government's overwhelming emphasis on social stability gives protestors leverage against hospitals, which can be summarized as “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Ironically, the sensitivity of Chinese government towards social stability becomes a weakness of its own. Government's active intervention to reach a peace-oriented goal will incentivize patients to resort to violence in pursuit of compensation. This study has implications for understanding the Chinese government's logic of addressing social problems that range from hospital violence, labor disputes, land disputes to demolition compensation and civil petitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Junqiang & Zhou, Hui & Liu, Lingrui & Wang, Chunxiao, 2020. "The weakness of the strong: Examining the squeaky-wheel effect of hospital violence in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:245:y:2020:i:c:s0277953619307129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112717
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619307129
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112717?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liuyi Zhang & Teresa E. Stone & Jingping Zhang, 2017. "Understanding the rise of Yinao in China: A commentary on the little known phenomenon of healthcare violence," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 183-187, June.
    2. Jianwei Shi & Sheng Wang & Ping Zhou & Leiyu Shi & Yu Zhang & Fei Bai & Di Xue & Xinkai Zhang, 2015. "The Frequency of Patient-Initiated Violence and Its Psychological Impact on Physicians in China: A Cross-Sectional Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    3. He, Alex Jingwei, 2014. "The doctor–patient relationship, defensive medicine and overprescription in Chinese public hospitals: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey in Shenzhen city," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 64-71.
    4. He, Alex Jingwei & Qian, Jiwei, 2016. "Explaining medical disputes in Chinese public hospitals: the doctor–patient relationship and its implications for health policy reforms," Health Economics, Policy and Law, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 359-378, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yancong Zhu & Zhenhong Zhao & Jingxian Guo & Yanna Wang & Chengwen Zhang & Jiayu Zheng & Zheng Zou & Wei Liu, 2023. "Understanding Use Intention of mHealth Applications Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT-2) Model in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Lian, Ying & Dong, Xuefan, 2021. "Exploring social media usage in improving public perception on workplace violence against healthcare workers," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dongxu Li & Min Su & Xi Guo & Weile Zhang & Tianjiao Zhang, 2022. "The Effect of Medical Choice on Health Costs of Middle-Aged and Elderly Patients with Chronic Disease: Based on Principal-Agent Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Xin Zhao & Xiaoxue Li & Benno Torgler & Uwe Dulleck, 2021. "Patient violence, physicians treatment decisions, and patient welfare: Evidence from China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1461-1479, June.
    3. Zhan Wang & Niying Li & Mengsi Jiang & Keith Dear & Chee-Ruey Hsieh, 2017. "Records of medical malpractice litigation: A potential indicator of healthcare quality in China," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-144, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Jiwei Qian & Alex Jingwei He, 2018. "The Bonus Scheme, Motivation Crowding-out and Quality of the Doctor-Patient Encounters in Chinese Public Hospitals," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 143-158, June.
    5. Zhao, Chunjuan & Ma, Wen, 2020. "Patient resistance towards clinicians’ diagnostic test-taking advice and its management in Chinese outpatient clinic interaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    6. Ying Mao & Wei Ning & Ning Zhang & Tao Xie & Jinnan Liu & Yongbo Lu & Bin Zhu, 2021. "The Therapeutic Relationship in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Linghan Shan & Ye Li & Ding Ding & Qunhong Wu & Chaojie Liu & Mingli Jiao & Yanhua Hao & Yuzhen Han & Lijun Gao & Jiejing Hao & Lan Wang & Weilan Xu & Jiaojiao Ren, 2016. "Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Inpatient Care: Effects of Trust, Medical Insurance and Perceived Quality of Care," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Nan Tang & Louise E. Thomson, 2019. "Workplace Violence in Chinese Hospitals: The Effects of Healthcare Disturbance on the Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Healthcare Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-14, September.
    9. Alex Jingwei He & Liang Ma, 2020. "Corporate policy entrepreneurship and cross‐boundary strategies: How a private corporation champions mobile healthcare payment innovation in China?," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 76-86, February.
    10. Wenxin & W. & Bentum-Micah & G. & Zhiqiang & M. & Bing & L. & Asabea Addo & A. & Boadi & B.E. & Atuahene & A.S. & Bondzie-Micah & V., 2020. "The Influence of Encounter Service Quality on Patient Satisfaction: An Empirical Study in Chinese Public Hospitals," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(3), pages 461-477.
    11. Runtang Meng & Jingjing Li & Yunquan Zhang & Yong Yu & Yi Luo & Xiaohan Liu & Yanxia Zhao & Yuantao Hao & Ying Hu & Chuanhua Yu, 2018. "Evaluation of Patient and Medical Staff Satisfaction regarding Healthcare Services in Wuhan Public Hospitals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, April.
    12. Yu, Wantao & Zhao, Gen & Liu, Qi & Song, Yongtao, 2021. "Role of big data analytics capability in developing integrated hospital supply chains and operational flexibility: An organizational information processing theory perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    13. Mengna Luan & Wenjing Shi & Zhigang Tao & Hongjie Yuan, 2023. "When patients have better insurance coverage in China: Provider incentives, costs, and quality of care," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 1073-1106, October.
    14. Wendy Nieto-Gutierrez & Carlos J Toro-Huamanchumo & Alvaro Taype-Rondan & Raúl Timaná-Ruiz & Carlos Alva Diaz & David Jumpa-Armas & Seimer Escobedo-Palza & CONAREME Consejo Nacional de Residentado Méd, 2018. "Workplace violence by specialty among Peruvian medical residents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-12, November.
    15. Guangyu Hu & Xueyan Han & Huixuan Zhou & Yuanli Liu, 2019. "Public Perception on Healthcare Services: Evidence from Social Media Platforms in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-10, April.
    16. Li Luo & Ying Zhou & Bernard T. Han & Jialing Li, 2019. "An optimization model to determine appointment scheduling window for an outpatient clinic with patient no-shows," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 68-84, March.
    17. Yu Xia & Jing Li & Zhongyang Zhang, 2023. "Effects of price cap regulation on pharmaceutical supply chain under the zero markup drug policy," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1-27, December.
    18. Jesús María Aranaz Andrés & José Lorenzo Valencia-Martín & Jorge Vicente-Guijarro & Cristina Díaz-Agero Pérez & Nieves López-Fresneña & Irene Carrillo & José Joaquín Mira Solves & SOBRINA Working Grou, 2020. "Low-Value Clinical Practices: Knowledge and Beliefs of Spanish Surgeons and Anesthetists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    19. Bianca Hanganu & Irina Smaranda Manoilescu & Cristian Paparau & Laura Gheuca-Solovastru & Camelia Liana Buhas & Andreea Silvana Szalontay & Beatrice Gabriela Ioan, 2022. "Why Are Patients Unhappy with Their Healthcare? A Romanian Physicians’ Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-13, August.
    20. Alex Jingwei He & Yumeng Fan & Rui Su, 2022. "Seeking policy solutions in a complex system: experimentalist governance in China’s healthcare reform," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 55(4), pages 755-776, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:245:y:2020:i:c:s0277953619307129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.