Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China
ObjectiveAddressing health inequity (HI) for older people is a pivotal global public health concern, as it impedes the process of healthy ageing. The digital health care service reform (DHSR) emerges as a progressive public health approach to enhance the health and well-being of older adults by prov...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1217503/full |
| _version_ | 1797635043451994112 |
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| author | Xinzhu Qi Tieying Feng Renyi Deng |
| author_facet | Xinzhu Qi Tieying Feng Renyi Deng |
| author_sort | Xinzhu Qi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectiveAddressing health inequity (HI) for older people is a pivotal global public health concern, as it impedes the process of healthy ageing. The digital health care service reform (DHSR) emerges as a progressive public health approach to enhance the health and well-being of older adults by providing comprehensive and equitable medical services. This study elucidates the association between DHSR and HI for older individuals to augment comprehension of DHSR implementation.MethodsThe initiation of the action plan for smart health and eldercare (SHE) in 2017 serves as a quasi-natural experiment. Utilizing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2015 and 2018, a propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to select samples, and a difference-in-differences (DID) regression was used to ascertain the net effect of DHSR on HI for older individuals in China. This methodology mitigates selection bias and segregates the DHSR effect from temporal shifts or other occurrences.ResultsThe PSM-DID analysis reveals that DHSR reduced the HI index for older individuals by 0.301 (p < 0.01). Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the effect of DHSR was more pronounced in older males (−0.333, p < 0.01) than females (−0.251, p < 0.05). The impact of DHSR was notably higher for older population in the western (−0.557, p < 0.01) and central regions (−0.318, p < 0.05) compared to the eastern region, where the relationship was statistically non-significant.ConclusionThe results demonstrate that DHSR plays a vital role in diminishing HI, fostering inclusive growth in public health. The study underscores the imperative of sustained DHSR endeavours and allocating resources to key older demographics to substantially mitigate HI. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:15:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5cc08709045c4ceab064c97dcefd6a0d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:15:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-5cc08709045c4ceab064c97dcefd6a0d2023-11-07T08:55:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-11-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.12175031217503Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in ChinaXinzhu QiTieying FengRenyi DengObjectiveAddressing health inequity (HI) for older people is a pivotal global public health concern, as it impedes the process of healthy ageing. The digital health care service reform (DHSR) emerges as a progressive public health approach to enhance the health and well-being of older adults by providing comprehensive and equitable medical services. This study elucidates the association between DHSR and HI for older individuals to augment comprehension of DHSR implementation.MethodsThe initiation of the action plan for smart health and eldercare (SHE) in 2017 serves as a quasi-natural experiment. Utilizing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2015 and 2018, a propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to select samples, and a difference-in-differences (DID) regression was used to ascertain the net effect of DHSR on HI for older individuals in China. This methodology mitigates selection bias and segregates the DHSR effect from temporal shifts or other occurrences.ResultsThe PSM-DID analysis reveals that DHSR reduced the HI index for older individuals by 0.301 (p < 0.01). Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the effect of DHSR was more pronounced in older males (−0.333, p < 0.01) than females (−0.251, p < 0.05). The impact of DHSR was notably higher for older population in the western (−0.557, p < 0.01) and central regions (−0.318, p < 0.05) compared to the eastern region, where the relationship was statistically non-significant.ConclusionThe results demonstrate that DHSR plays a vital role in diminishing HI, fostering inclusive growth in public health. The study underscores the imperative of sustained DHSR endeavours and allocating resources to key older demographics to substantially mitigate HI.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1217503/fulldigital health carehealth reformhealth inequityolder peoplequasi-natural experiment |
| spellingShingle | Xinzhu Qi Tieying Feng Renyi Deng Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China Frontiers in Public Health digital health care health reform health inequity older people quasi-natural experiment |
| title | Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China |
| title_full | Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China |
| title_fullStr | Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China |
| title_short | Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China |
| title_sort | digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people a quasi natural experiment in china |
| topic | digital health care health reform health inequity older people quasi-natural experiment |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1217503/full |
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