The efficiency of health resources allocation and its influencing factors of Chinese county-level hospitals: evidence from Network SBM and Tobit model

This paper aimed to evaluate the efficiency of health resources allocation (HRA) in Chinese county-level hospitals, further explored its spatiotemporal characteristics and influence factors, so as to provide policy implications to enhance healthcare service capacity and operational efficiency. By using Network Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model, we assessed the overall and two stage efficiency of HRA in county-level hospitals across 28 provinces from 2012 to 2022. Then, the Tobit regression model was employed to exam the influence factors of HRA. The results revealed that the overall efficiency of HRA in Chinese county-level hospitals has exhibited a declining trend, failing to achieve DEA full efficiency. Spatially, the efficiency value ranked as follows: Central China > Eastern China > Western China > Northeast China, with regional disparities remained significant. Three-quarters of regions presented lower efficiency in stage one compared to stage two, which is mainly due to the insufficient output of healthcare personnel and beds utilization. Factors such as regional economic development, resident income levels, population density, and government financial support were found to improve the HRA efficiency significantly.