Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41004217›Full record

Observational studyJournal of global health2025

Changes in rural China's caregiver outcomes, behaviours, and health services utilisation following the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study.

Isabel Z Wang, Gary L Darmstadt, Andrew Rule, Sarah-Eve Dill, Yunwei Chen, Huan Zhou, Yuju Wu, Scott Rozelle

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Isabel Z WangStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.
Gary L DarmstadtStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.
Andrew RuleStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.
Sarah-Eve DillStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.
Yunwei ChenStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.
Huan ZhouWest China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yuju WuWest China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Scott RozelleStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, California, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Under-resourced communities in rural China have long faced limitations in accessing and utilising caregiver and child healthcare (CCH). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health inequities globally, while its precise impacts on CCH remain understudied. We report differences in parental migration, maternal mental health, household and nutrition expenditures, child feeding practices, and prenatal, postnatal, and childbirth care following pandemic lockdowns in rural China. Methods: We compared two groups of families with children who grew to the age of six months either before or during lockdowns. We enrolled eligible households from 80 rural townships, randomly selected from four poverty-designated counties in Sichuan Province, China. We interviewed the control group of primary caregivers in November and December of 2019 (pre-COVID-19), and the case group in May of 2020 (approximately five months into the pandemic). Statistical analyses included t tests and linear regressions with adjustments. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Compared to the control group, the case group presented significantly lower paternal migration and more favourable maternal mental health. Caregiving behaviours (including household and nutrition expenditures) and child feeding practices did not differ, except for higher spending on infant micronutrient supplements. Prenatal health services utilisation, including home visits, was slightly higher, while postnatal services utilisation was lower. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that many aspects of CCH in rural China were similar or improved during the early pandemic lockdowns. These data highlight the importance of promoting targeted public health interventions, such as mental health support initiatives, accessible perinatal care options, and family-centred education campaigns, in under-resourced communities and during future healthcare crises.

Indexed as

CaregiversCOVID-19Patient Acceptance of Health CareRural PopulationAdultChinaFemaleHumansInfantMalePandemicsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID41004217
PMCPMC12467446

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.