Impact of the new rural social pension insurance on the health of the rural older adult population: based on the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Yuegang Song; Changqing Song; Ziqi Wang; Guoheng Hu

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1310180

Impact of the new rural social pension insurance on the health of the rural older adult population: based on the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 14:11:1310180. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1310180. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yuegang Song¹, Changqing Song¹, Ziqi Wang¹, Guoheng Hu²

Affiliations

¹ School of Business, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China.
² Shengxiang School of Business, Sanda University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The health issues of China's older adult population in rural areas have been receiving increasing attention with the continuous expansion of the nation's ageing population and the continuous promotion of urban-rural integration. The impact of the new rural social pension insurance (NRSPI) on the health of the rural older adult population, the mechanism of its action and how old-age service can be improved and optimised according to the health needs of the rural older adult population are urgent and realistic challenges. Based on survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2015 and 2018, this study applies a multivariate ordered logistic regression model to explore the impact mechanism and effect of the NRSPI on the older adult population health in rural China while controlling for endogeneity. The results show that participation in the NRSPI can significantly improve the health of the rural older adult population at a 1% level. The results of the heterogeneity test reveal that the NRSPI has a significant impact on the self-reported health of the rural older adult at a 1% level, with a significantly positive impact on the mental and physical health of rural female older adult, whereas the impact on male older adult is not significant. The mediating effect test results show that medical services, food access and entertainment activities have a mediating effect on the new rural social endowment insurance. The results of the moderating effect test indicate that the NRSPI regulates 7.8% of the effect of physical health on mental health and 10.7% of the effect of mental health on physical health. Based on these findings, this study proposes to strengthen the construction of healthy lifestyle guidance and emotional support systems while improving the NRSPI's participation rate and treatment level to meet the diverse health service needs of different older adult groups.

Keywords: logistic regression model; mediating effect; moderating effect; new rural social pension insurance; rural older adult population health.

MeSH terms

Aged
China / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Insurance*
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Pensions
Retirement*
Urban Population

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Social Science Foundation (the impact of heterogeneity of regional trade in services agreements on the reconstruction of global value chain of China’s manufacturing industry; project no: 20BJY091) and the innovation team project of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province (coordinated development of urban and rural areas and Rural Revitalization; project no: 2021-CXTD-04).