Objective To find out about the current situation of the human assisted reproduction technology(ART) in China so as to provide basis for the formulation of relevant policies. Methods Investigations were conducted by means of epidemiological and sociological surveys. Results By the end of 1999, the number of institutions delivering IVF reached 70 or so and some other institutions were starting to or preparing to start to deliver it. However, the number of ART centers that were big in scale was very limited and the rate of complications of pregnancy via IVF was much higher than that of natural pregnancy. In addition, there were problems in the control of sperm, ovum, and impregnated ovum and many issues of ethicality and laws and regulations remained to be resolved in delivering ART. Overdevelopment of the technology resulted mainly from the drive for profits. Conclusion It is extremely urgent to strengthen control of ART. In particular, great attention must be paid to the safety of the IVF technology. Also, more efforts need to be made to speed up the formulation of relevant laws and regulations concerning ART.

Objective A scientific evaluation of hospital culture with the Dimension organizational culture model, in view of features of China's general public hospitals.Methods Based on Denison model, according to the characteristics of the public general hospitals in China, the authors developed a tool for organizational culture assessment (TOCA) by using the survey data from 87 hospitals in three provinces from the East, Central, and West areas in China.Results This tool, an evaluation scale, comprises the four cultural characteristics of direction, consistency, participation, and adaptability, as well as 13 cultural dimensions of social responsibility and competitive consciousness. The tool is tested as having good internal reliability and validity.Conclusion The TOCA provides hospital administrators with a tool for hospital culture evaluation, diagnosis and improvement.