Abstract
Social support has been demonstrated to be associated with the health status of old adults, but no study has clarified the relationship between social support, morbidities and self-rated health among the migrant elderly following children (MEFC) to new cities. This study aimed to explore the effect of social support and morbidities on self-rated health among MEFC to Jinan, China. A total of 656 MEFC were included in this study by using multi-stage cluster random sampling. Social support was measured by the Social Support Rating Scale. Correlation analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysis were employed to clarify the association between social support, morbidities and self-rated health among the MEFC. Approximately 75.9% of the MEFC rated their health as good. Logistic regression analysis showed that MEFC who lived with family were more likely to have a higher level of self-rated health. In addition to social support, body mass index (BMI), monthly income, one-year living style, the presence of an elevator, heart disease, stroke, duration of chronic disease, and outpatient service attendance were also associated with the self-rated health of MEFC. Social support and morbidities were significantly associated with self-rated health among MEFC. Targeted policies should be made to improve social support status and lower the morbidities in MEFC.
Highlights
Padmore Adusei Amoah explored the relationship between health literacy, social support, and self-reported health among young and older Ghanaians, and the results showed that social support changed health literacy and self-rated health among young and elderly people to different degrees and in different ways [17]
The results showed that the association between basic demographic information and the selfrated health among the migrant elderly following children (MEFC) was statistically significant
The results of this study show that 75.9% (n = 498) of the MEFC were categorized into the “good” self-rated health group, which was similar to previous studies [32]
Summary
The number of Chinese elderly people moving to cities increased sharply after 2000, from 5.03 million in 2000 to 13.04 million in 2015 (an average annual growth rate of 6.6%) [3]. As these elderly people moved to unfamiliar places, they faced new challenges to their health. Compared with the local elderly, the MEFC are far away from their hometown, and their social network and social supports become weaker [6]. They are more likely to solve problems by themselves than to ask for help. The effect of social support and morbidities on the health of MFEC deserves close attention [9]
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