Illegal Private Clinics: Ideal Health Services Choices among Rural–Urban Migrants in China?

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to explore the important issues and the role of illegal private clinics in health services access among rural–urban migrants in China. The function that illegal private clinics substantially play on the health among rural–urban migrants in China is rarely discussed in studies. A study on a migrant community in Beijing shows the disadvantaged status of health services choices and the constraints for access to health services among migrants. It argues that the existence of illegal private clinics provides a channel to migrants for medical services in the city and reflects the difficulties and high cost of providing medical services to migrants in urban public hospitals. Occasionally the illegal private clinics can cause danger to the health of migrants.

Keywords::

• Rural–urban migrants
• illegal private clinics
• health services access
• China

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank those who participated in the interviews for this research.

FUNDING

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education in China, Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Fund Project (project number 13YJCZH092) and by the Independent Innovation Foundation of Shandong University (project number 2012TB007).