Analysis On The Factors Affecting Self-rated Health Of The Elderly In China

Nowadays,the average life span of human is generally extended,and the aging of population has become an inevitable trend of population development all over the world.Not only that,China’s elderly population group is very large,and in the next few decades,China’s elderly population size will continue to maintain a rapid growth trend.With the rapid growth of the elderly population,many health problems of the elderly are exposed.With the development of society and economy,the definition of health for people is not only disease-free,but also a status that an individual achieves good levels in various aspects such as physical,mental,social and so on.The index of the self-rated health,studied in this thesis,is a comprehensive health indicator covering the subjective and objective aspects,and is able to assess people’s health appropriately.Therefore,in this thesis,we study the self-rated health status of the elderly and find out the factors affecting it,analyze the underlying mechanism,and propose policies to improve the health level and quality of life of the elderly.In the thesis,using 2015 national tracking survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS),we first analyze the factors affecting self-rated health of the elderly,based on an generalized linear model with probit link function.Several significant predictors are selected including‘whether to have medical insurance’,‘whether suffering from chronic diseases’,the degree of happiness,‘whether to drink’,‘whether disabled’,gender,satisfaction with medical service,sleep status,activities of daily life,degree of depression and age.Furthermore,a structural equation model is constructed to explore the mechanism behind the relationship between the influencing factors and the self-rated health of the elderly,and the influencing mode is analyzed.The conclusions are as follows:(1)the physical condition of the elderly has the greatest impact on their self-rated health,and the healthier the elderly were,the better their self-rated health would be.In addition,the physical condition of the elderly will indirectly affect the mental health and intergenerational support of the elderly.The worse the physical condition of the elderly is,the worse the mental health is and the greater support the elderly can getfrom their children.(2)the mental health of the elderly will affect their self-rated health.The healthier the mental state is,the better the self-rated health is.(3)the medical security level of the elderly will affect the self-rated health of the elderly.The higher medical security level the elderly enjoy,the better their self-rated health will be.In addition,the medical security level of the elderly will indirectly affect their mental health and physical conditions.The elderly who participate in the medical insurance and are satisfied with the level of medical services are healthier in body and in mental state.(4)the lifestyle of the elderly has a significant positive impact on the self-rated health and it also indirectly affects the self-rated health by affecting the physical condition.The physical conditions and the self-rated health of the elderly who smoke or drink are both worse.(5)the intergenerational support of the elderly has a significant positive impact on the self-rated health,and it also affect the mental health level,thus indirectly affecting the self-rated health.On the basis of the empirical research conclusion,we put forward some relevant policy suggestions,including improving community health management services;relieving the medical burden on the elderly under poor financial condition;regular screening of mental health for the elderly;improving the lifestyle of the elderly through community outreach and family support;urging the children of the elderly to pay attention to their physical and psychological conditions;improving the level of medical security and services in rural areas,and so on.