Need for social services among disabled Chinese older adults in urban and rural areas

Abstract

Using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2005 to 2018, we examined the need for social services among disabled older adults in rural and urban China. Social services were classified into two types: Basic care and social connection. The Andersen model and ordered logistic regressions were employed to estimate how predisposing, enabling, and need factors are associated with the need for social services. We found significant rural-urban differences in the need for social services and its associates. Rural older adults reported a greater need for both types of services than their urban counterparts. Economic independence was associated with a decreased need for both types of services in urban residents; severe disability in activities of daily living was associated with increased need for both types of services in urban areas; coresidence with children was associated with decreased need for basic care services in both rural and urban areas. The findings suggest that developing social services is urgent in rural China to mitigate the decline of traditional family care.

Keywords

Social services / Older adults / Care need / Aging care / Eldercare / Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey / China

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