Socioeconomic Differences and Trends in the Place of Death among Elderly People in China

Jiaoli Cai, Hongzhong Zhao and Peter C. Coyte
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Jiaoli Cai: School of Economics, Wuhan University of Technology, 122 Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China
Hongzhong Zhao: School of Economics, Wuhan University of Technology, 122 Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China
Peter C. Coyte: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: China is facing a dramatic aging of its population. Little is known about the factors that influence the place of death and the trends in the place of death for elderly people in China. The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the impact of the socioeconomic status (SES) on place of death for elderly Chinese residents; and (2) to assess temporal trends in the place of death over the last 15 years. Data were derived from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) (1998–2012). Place-of-death as an outcome was dichotomized into either death at home or death outside the home. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the impact of SES on place of death. The results showed that, of the 23,098 deaths during the study period, 87.78% occurred at home. The overall trend in home death has increased since 2005. SES was shown to be an important factor affecting place of death. The elderly with higher SES were more likely to die where health resources were concentrated, i.e., in a hospital or other type of institution. Our finding suggests that the trend towards a greater emphasis on death at home may call for the development of more supportive home care programs in China. Our finding also suggests that the socioeconomic differences in the place of death may be related to the availability of or access to health care services.

Keywords: Chinese elderly; socioeconomic status; place of death; home (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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