Sophomore students at SEM kicks off a summer research project that will take place in areas along the Yellow River.

Themed “Rural Healthcare Research,” the project is the continuation of the undergraduate project with the same theme carried out along the Yangtze River in 2009. In the previous project, students researched on healthcare conditions in the rural areas of sixteen cities. They visited more than 80 hospitals and 300 health stations. The number of questionnaires collected amounted to over 3,000.

The 2010 project covers fifteen cities and counties, and will last for ten days. Participants of the project will be sophomore students of SEM. It aims to collect further data for the Research Center for Healthcare Research, and assist the policy making in the Chinese rural healthcare reform.

199 participating undergraduates will be grouped into fifteen teams, each led by a faculty member of SEM. This is the largest summer field research ever in Chinese universities.

Provinces covered by the project

“Healthcare system reform is one of the most significant reforms in the rural area. It draws intense attention, directly impacting the physical and mental health of the 80 billion farmers of China.” Says ZHAO Dongqing, Associate Dean of SEM. “In the summer project, SEM students effectively apply what they have learnt from the classroom by going to the countryside and collecting first-hand information. It will also nurture a sense of responsibility in them.”

Before the project, the Research Center for Healthcare Management conducted five training sessions for students. Speakers included governmental officers and healthcare scholars.

All participants are expected to submit a project report on individual bases in August, and each team will generate a combined report of the healthcare service network in their field work region.