Yang Zihan, Tang Changmin, Yang Xiaoyu, Zhou Sitong, Huang Zhirui
Objective To conduct a systematic evaluation of the residents' demand for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services in the Chinese grassroots medical institutions. Methods Literature was retrieved from multiple databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), CQVIP, Wanfang, China Biomedical, PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, and Science Direct. Studieson the demand for TCM services by residents at grassroots medical institutions were collected from the inception of the databases up to March 2023. The meta-analysis was performed using the Review Manager 5.4 software. Depending on the characteristics and heterogeneity of the included studies, either a fixed-effect model or a random-effects model was employed for the analysis. Results A total of four Chinese-language articles were incorporated into the study, encompassing a cumulative sample size of 3,280 subjects. The meta-analysis revealed that the aggregate demand rate for TCM services was 74% [odds ratio (OR)=0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55, 0.94]. More specifically, the demand rates for TCM knowledge services, TCM technical services, and TCM rehabilitation services were 56% (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.89), 70% (OR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.00), and 58% (OR=0.70,95% CI: 0.45, 0.70). Conclusion Chinese residents exhibit high levels of demand for the TCM services and TCM subcategory services offered by grassroots medical institutions.