Relationship between social interaction and health of the floating elderly population in China: an analysis based on interaction type, mode and frequency

Abstract

Background Although the health of the floating elderly population is an important part of active and healthy ageing, it is neglected in current Chinese society. Based on the general consensus that social interaction can affect the health of the floating population, this study explored whether the interaction type, mode and frequency influenced the health of the floating elderly population in China and investigated the variability of these influential effects. Methods This study used the China Migrant Population Dynamic Survey Data 2017 and selected 5239 floating elderly individuals over 60 years old. Self-rated health was used to assess the comprehensive health status of respondents. Social interaction was measured by the interaction type, mode and frequency. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyse the health and social interaction status. An ordinal probit model was used to estimate the influential effects and differences on health caused by social interaction. The 2SLS model was used to examine the mutual causality relationship between interaction frequency and health, and a robustness test was conducted. Results A total of 44.6% interacted with local residents, 14.2% participated in interaction activities based on geographical relations, and only 4.3% and 7% participated in interactions based on business and interest, respectively. Interacting with natives improved individuals’ self-rated health by 18.5%; specifically, geographical interaction increased self-rated health by 40.9%, occupational interaction increased it by 25.2%, interest-based interaction increased it by 41.2%, and interaction frequency improved the self-rated health (β = 0.128). In addition, sex, education level, personal income, and floating into the eastern region had a positive effect on individuals’ health. However, age, spouse and hukou exerted a negative effect. Conclusions This study demonstrated that interacting with local residents could improve the health of floating elderly population, and revealed that interest-based interaction and their frequency had a positive impact on health. The government should speed up the construction of the voluntary service system and encourage the floating elderly population to realize their personal value in social interaction. In addition, the reform of the hukou system should be further promoted, so as to remove institutional barriers to the social interaction.

How does social integration work when older migrants obtain health services from community? Evidence from national database in China

“…When older migrants find that local residents or those with rural hukou have a “comparative advantage” in accessing local public medical services, their self-rated health levels will decline. This is essentially consistent with existing research ( 12 , 37 ), reflecting the negative impact caused by the reform of China's household registration system. However, the lack of statistically significant association between community health records and the health of older migrants might be attributed to the overall low establishment of health records among the respondents.…”

“…This paper uses the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), which was obtained from a survey conducted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The survey covers 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in China, using the probability proportional scale sampling (PPS) method to survey the migrant population aged 15 years and older ( 37 ). All sample individuals are surveyed through face-to-face interviews and questionnaires.…”