Abstract
The world’s rapidly aging population brings serious challenges which could be addressed by changes in behaviour and policy that promote good health in older age. However, these cheap and simple interventions are not available in many countries. China is one of the fastest-ageing countries in the world. The health management programs for the elderly in basic public health services was introduced by the government to promote the health of the elderly in China and address the challenges related to ageing. However, the effectiveness of the program is uncertain. So, we use a propensity score matching difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) model to analyse the causal effect of the health management program for the elderly in basic public health services on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the elderly in China. The result shows that the program has improved the physical health of the elderly but has had no significant impact on mental health. Expanding the program to cover mental health could further benefit the HRQoL of the elderly. The program is a cost-effective approach to tackle the challenges of ageing and is a good example for other developing countries facing the same ageing challenges.
Highlights
According to the World Population Prospects, the world’s population is rapidly ageing: in 2018, the number of people over 65 years of age in the world will exceed the number of children under5 years of age for the first time in history [1]
To measure the health-related quality of life of the elderly, we developed and validated a new scale based on the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) variables
After excluding patients diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes or mental illness and people who received the health management program in 2011 or had missing values in the main variables, 1211 elderly people were included in the study
Summary
5 years of age for the first time in history [1]. Population ageing is strongly related to rises in the prevalence of chronic conditions and disability, such as diabetes, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and unintentional injury [2,3]. It poses a serious challenge to the world, but evidence suggests that this challenge can be addressed by changes in behaviour and policy, especially those that promote good health in older age such as the effective management of common chronic diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles [4]. China has the largest number of elderly people (65 years and older) in the world, reaching 150 million, and it is one of the fastest-ageing countries [6]. China’s rapidly ageing population is expected to be associated with at least a 40%
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