Equity in maternal and child health care utilization in Guangdong province of China 2009-2019: A retrospective analysis

Equity is the principal challenge of maternal and child health care (MCH) across the world, especially in China. Existing researches focused on equity in MCH resources and outcomes. There is an evidence gap regarding equity of MCH services utilization, revealing the black box between equity in MCH resources and MCH outcomes. In the study, we evaluate the changes of equity in integrated MCH service utilization in Guangdong province of China during 2009-2019. Data used in this study are from the Guangdong Maternal and Child Health Routine Reporting System and the Guangdong Health Statistical Yearbook (2009-2019). The Gini coefficient (G) and Theil index (T) were employed to assess equity and source of inequity in four geographic regions of Guangdong province. Generally, among the integrated MCH care, coverage of pre-pregnancy care (