The Challenge to Healthy Longevity: Inequality in Health Care and Mortality in China

Zhongwei Zhao ()
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Zhongwei Zhao: The Australian National University, The Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute

Chapter Chapter 16 in Healthy Longevity in China, 2008, pp 269-287 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract China made great progress in lowering mortality in the second half of the twentieth century. Its life expectancy increased from approximately 35 years to more than 65 years between 1950 and 1980. China’s recent socio-economic reforms started in the late 1970s and has brought about both positive and negative changes in social security and health care systems. Some of the changes have created dif- ficulties for the further improvement of public health. While China’s mortality has continued to fall in the last 25 years and life expectancy has now reached 72 years, it also faces serious challenges in further improving healthy longevity. This chapter first reviews the epidemiological transition and increasing longevity in the world. It then discusses China’s mortality decline and some major changes in health care taking place in recent decades. Following that, it examines the increasing inequality in health care and mortality across different areas and population groups. Finally, it comments on major challenges in raising healthy longevity and some related issues.

Keywords: Accessibility of health services; Advanced areas; Age reporting; Ageing; China; Cause of death; Cooperative Medical System; Disparity; Epidemiological Transition; Gini index; Government Insurance Scheme; Health care; Health care coverage; Health care system; Health expenditure; Health services; Healthy longevity; Health workers; Income distribution; Inequality; Labour Insurance Scheme; Large cities; Less developed areas; Life expectancy; Mortality decline; Mortality differential; Mortality transition; Regional variation; Rural areas; Sanitary conditions; Standards of living (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ssdmcp:978-1-4020-6752-5_16

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6752-5_16

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