The Relationship between Internet Use and Population Health: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

Liqing Li and Haifeng Ding
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Liqing Li: School of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410100, China
Haifeng Ding: School of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410100, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Given the increasing use of the Internet in China, the relationship between Internet use and population health has been receiving increased academic attention. However, the current literature has not yet reached a unified conclusion; thus, further research is very necessary. This study used the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data to explore the relationship between Internet use and the health of the population and to evaluate the possible heterogeneity of the association between different groups and the mediation path. This study revealed that Internet use has a positive association with the subjective health of the population. The results of the heterogeneity analysis revealed that Internet use is more significantly associated with the health of non-agricultural workers and those with higher education levels than that of agricultural workers and those with lower education levels. Further analysis revealed that health behavior is an important mediator between Internet use and population health. These results remain robust even after using propensity score matching (PSM) to eliminate sample selection bias.

Keywords: Chinese population health; health behavior; Internet use; subjective health; self-rated health; chronic conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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