Abstract
Objectives: To explore the association of formal and informal social support with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Chinese rural elders and further investigate the influence of quantity and quality of social support on their HRQOL. Methods: The sample of 4189 Chinese rural elders over 60 years old was acquired from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The HRQOL was evaluated by EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. The social support assessment was mainly based on the social support rating scale (SSRS), and Tobit regression analysis was used to explore the impact of social support on HRQOL. Results: The average EQ-5D index score (0 to 1) of the Chinese rural elders was 0.78 ± 0.16. Participants who were male or with better education were found to have higher scores. Those elders living alone, suffering from chronic diseases or disabled acquired lower scores. As for formal social support, higher medical or pension insurance and more social activities statistically significantly possessed higher scores. As for informal social support, higher number of offspring had a significant association with lower scores, while more contact with children and financial support from family were shown to be statistically significantly associated with higher scores after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. The quality of social support is more important than its quantity. An interesting finding was that the EQ-5D index scores did not support the Chinese traditional belief that ‘the more children, the more blessings’. Conclusions: The EQ-5D index scores of the rural elders in China is above the median level based on the scores of EQ-5D. Social support is significantly associated with elderly peoples’ quality of life. The results would be significant for accurately improving the life quality of Chinese rural elders from the perspective of social support.
Highlights
As important research relevant to the aging population, health-related quality of life (HRQOL)has been attracting increasing attention from domestic and foreign scholars in recent years [1,2,3,4].The World Health Organization (WHO) defined HRQOL as an ‘individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value system in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns’ [5]
The results would be significant for accurately improving the life quality of Chinese rural elders from the perspective of social support
The results of the study demonstrate that the EQ-5D index scores of the elderly in rural China are above the median level, and some factors of formal and informal social support are positively related to HRQOL among the Chinese rural elders
Summary
As important research relevant to the aging population, health-related quality of life (HRQOL)has been attracting increasing attention from domestic and foreign scholars in recent years [1,2,3,4].The World Health Organization (WHO) defined HRQOL as an ‘individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value system in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns’ [5]. As important research relevant to the aging population, health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Has been attracting increasing attention from domestic and foreign scholars in recent years [1,2,3,4]. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined HRQOL as an ‘individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value system in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns’ [5]. An increasing number of studies have been conducted to explore the relationship between social support and HRQOL, demonstrating that higher social support could effectively relieve the pressure on individuals and increase their subjective wellbeing [9,10,11]. Public Health 2020, 17, 1351; doi:10.3390/ijerph17041351 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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