TY - JOUR
T1 - Implementing age-friendly policies in China
T2 - Assessing the impact on older adults’ self-rated health
AU - Wang, Shuhong
AU - Hu, Wanyang
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - Using prefecture-level policy documents (2008–2018) and the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011–2018), this study used fixed-effects regressions to examine the associations between the maturity of two age-friendly policies, i.e., old age care (OAC) and preferential treatment (PT) policies for older adults, and the self-rated health (SRH) of older adults. We use policy duration and policy density to measure policy maturity. The results showed positive relationships exist between the density of OAC and PT policy and older adults’ SRH, whereas long policy duration often relates to lower SRH. Policy duration and policy density work synergistically. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses indicated that older adults aged over 75 years, male, those with physical or mental impairment, and living in rural areas and in the first- and second-tier cities benefit significantly from denser OAC policy. The SRH of older adults suffering from physical disabilities or mental problems and living in rural areas is positively associated with denser PT policy. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that age-friendly policies should be updated over time and be place- and characteristic-tailored. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AB - Using prefecture-level policy documents (2008–2018) and the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011–2018), this study used fixed-effects regressions to examine the associations between the maturity of two age-friendly policies, i.e., old age care (OAC) and preferential treatment (PT) policies for older adults, and the self-rated health (SRH) of older adults. We use policy duration and policy density to measure policy maturity. The results showed positive relationships exist between the density of OAC and PT policy and older adults’ SRH, whereas long policy duration often relates to lower SRH. Policy duration and policy density work synergistically. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses indicated that older adults aged over 75 years, male, those with physical or mental impairment, and living in rural areas and in the first- and second-tier cities benefit significantly from denser OAC policy. The SRH of older adults suffering from physical disabilities or mental problems and living in rural areas is positively associated with denser PT policy. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that age-friendly policies should be updated over time and be place- and characteristic-tailored. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW - Old age care policy
KW - Preferential treatment policy
KW - Aging well
KW - Older adults
KW - China
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184619436&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85184619436&origin=recordpage
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116637
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116637
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 344
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
M1 - 116637
ER -