Health care for the rural elderly in and empty nest family is a major problem in such an ageing society such as China. Based on previous studies, China's rural health care services only focus on the physical health of the elderly, while public health care services only provide primary services such as blood pressure and blood glucose measurement. This leads to the question of whether physical health is the most important issue for the Chinese rural empty nest elderly (CREE). It is necessary to find out their health status, nursing needs and influencing factors associated with healthy ageing (HA). Using the method of logistic regression, four dimensions of HA (adding psychological health, social participation and daily activities to physical health) among 618 respondents in total were analyzed based on public panel data from the national survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Interesting results have been found; for example, the most important factor restricting the HA of the CREE is not physical health but social participation. The independence, health, good employment and economic conditions of their adult children play an important role in protecting the HA of the CREE.
Keywords: daily activity; healthy ageing; physical health; psychological well-being; social participation.