Analysis of diverse factors influencing the health status as well as medical and health service utilization in the floating elderly of China

Abstract

Background Based on the “China Migrants Dynamic Survey-Special investigation on Floating Elderly in 8 megacities in 2015”, the health status and the utilization of medical and health services in floating elderly were described and analyzed. Objective Scientific basis and critical suggestions are provided for improving the utilization level of medical and health services in the floating elderly and designing targeted health policies to improve their well-being. Methods The rank-sum test and Pearson χ2 test were used to compare the health status of floating elderly with different characteristics. Thereafter based on Andersen model, floating characteristics were added and binary logistic regression was used to explore the influencing factors of medical and health service utilization in the floating elderly. Results About 94.7% of the floating elderly were self-assessed as healthy/basically healthy. About 24.2% had hypertension or diabetes as diagnosed by the qualified doctors. About 7% suffered from diseases that required hospitalization. Only 28.6% of the floating elderly with hypertension or diabetes had visited a doctor for follow-up. In the case of minor ailments, only 48.7% decided to visit the clinics. Approximately 70.7% of the floating elderly had used in-patient services when they suffered from diseases requiring hospitalization. Conclusion The floating elderly were observed to be generally in good health but a high prevalence of hypertension or diabetes was observed among them. The cultivation of health awareness was found to be of great significance contributing to the improvement of the overall health level among the floating elderly. The basic medical insurance coverage was low, and the medical and health services were found to be severely underutilized. Adequate social support can promote the health of the floating elderly and improve their utilization of medical and health services. The floating reasons, scope and years of the elderly significantly affected their health status and the utilization rate of the basic public health services.

Self-Rated Health and Life Satisfaction among Elderly Migrants in China: A Moderated Mediation Model of Resilience and Upward Intergenerational Support

“…If they become sick and have to be cared for by their children, they may lose self-efficacy and even develop psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, that can reduce life satisfaction. In China, the community has the responsibility to establish health records or cards for elderly migrants so as to monitor their health status [ 47 ]. Medical policies have been released to reduce inequality in public health services between regions [ 43 ].…”

How to Make Primary Healthcare More Popular: Evidence from the Middle-Aged and Elderly in China

“…The latent variable is represented by λi, and the observed variable is represented by ρij ( Table 1 ). Medical insurance in PHC (λ1) [ 42 ], as the main form of compensation for the economic nature of medical resource utilization [ 43 ], had a significant impact on individual medical behavior [ 44 , 45 ]. It included the reimbursement rate of medical insurance (ρ11) and the type (ρ12).…”

The Promotional Effect of Health Education on the Medical Service Utilization of Migrants: Evidence From China

“…Migrant workers, who are relatively less educated, mostly work in labor-intensive industries, such as construction and manufacturing, and earn a low income. Due to these factors, they often choose to increase their current income, and do not avail medical services when they get sick (31).…”