The Impact of Social Support on the Health of the Rural Elderly in China

Yunli Bai, Fang Bian, Linxiu Zhang and Yueming Cao
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Yunli Bai: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Fang Bian: Capital Airport Sub-district Office, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100621, China
Linxiu Zhang: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yueming Cao: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: With the dramatic trend of global aging, the physical and mental health of the rural elderly has attracted significant attention. Social support plays an important role in improving the health of the elderly. However, assessing the impact of social support on the physical and mental health of the elderly is challenging in rural China. This paper analyzes the impact of social support on the physical and mental health of the Chinese rural elderly based on data collected from households and village cadres. Probit, Oprobit, and ordinary least squares (OLS) are used to estimate these effects. The results show that 24.3% of the rural elderly are in bad physical health, and 32.9% of them are depressed. Physical and mental health is worse among the female elderly and among those who are in western provinces. Having pensions, taking care of grandchildren, and communicating with children by telephone are shown to significantly improve the mental health of the rural elderly. The government could promote the mental health of the rural elderly by improving public health services, increasing pensions, providing free mobile phones to elderly people in poverty, and advocating that the younger generation provide emotional support.

Keywords: China; rural elderly; social support; physical health; depression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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