George People | Yang Zhao (William) Won 2020 CHPAMS Rising Scholar Best Paper Award

Dr. Yang Zhao (William) is currently a multimorbidity epidemiologist and research fellow at The George Institute for Global Health. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the WHO Collaborating Centre on Implementation Research for Prevention & Control of NCDs. As the lead author of the study “Physical multimorbidity, health service use, and catastrophic health expenditure by socioeconomic groups in China: an analysis of population-based panel data”, published in the June issue of the medical journal The Lancet Global Health, Yang Zhao was named the 2020 Rising Scholar Best Paper Award by China Health Policy and Management Society (CHPAMS).

Award Certificate

This study is the first longitudinal analysis to examine socioeconomic group differences in the prevalence of physical multimorbidity in China, and its effect on healthcare use and catastrophic health expenditures.

The findings indicate that physical multimorbidity was common in poorer regions than in the more affluent regions. Physical multimorbidity was significantly associated with increased health service use and the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure. Zhao said that multimorbidity was more likely to happen in the elderly groups in China and that patients with multimorbidity took larger risk than those with single chronic disease. Moreover, Zhao said the impacts of multimorbidity existed even in socioeconomic groups with high economic levels and with health insurance. Dr. Zhao held reforms of basic health insurance and catastrophic healthcare should pay more attention to patients with multimorbidity in order to provide more powerful and targeted economic risk protection. Reducing the burden and risk of multimorbidity, lowering healthcare expenditure for multimorbidity and constructing a patient-centred integrated healthcare system are necessary to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and implementing Healthy China 2030 strategy.

CHPAMS is a non-profit organization supported and funded by the Chinese Medical Board (CMB), which was set up in America in 2008. Its initial goal is to improve the health of Chinese people through health research, especially promote overseas young scholars to work in China, and help to strengthen science research ability of Chinese domestic healthcare organizations. In 2016, CHPAMS decided to establish The Rising Scholar Best Paper Award, aimed to encourage young CHPAMS members at home and abroad, and to commend and reward their outstanding works.

Dr. Yang Zhao

Dr. Zhao is currently a multimorbidity epidemiologist and working as research fellow and acting head of China Women and Children Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the WHO Collaborating Centre on Implementation Research for Prevention & Control of NCDs. Dr. Zhao obtained his PhD degree in Epidemiology and Public Health Service from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2019 and graduated with a Master of Public Health degree from Peking University in 2015.