Abstract
BackgroundThe association between different types of cities and the use of health services by aged migrant workers in China has not been widely reported in previous studies. This article aims to focus on rural-to-urban migrant workers in China aged 50 years and older to examine the relationship between the region of these migrant workers’ destination city (eastern, central or western) and migration city type (first-tier, second-tier, third-tier and smaller cities) and their use of health services (e.g., establishing health records, participating in health education, and seeking medical treatment when ill).MethodsThis study’s data were obtained from China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2017. A total of 14,732 rural-to-urban migrant workers aged 50 years and older were included in the analysis; 6,938 of the migrant workers were either ill or had recently experienced physical discomfort. A chi-square test and binary logistic regression were performed to explore the associations between these rural–urban migrants’ destination cities and their use of health services.ResultsThis study found that aged rural migrant workers who moved to the east or to first- or second-tier cities were less likely to establish health records, participate in health education programme, and seek medical care.ConclusionsMigrant destination cities are linked to the use of local health services by migrant workers aged 50 years and older in China. We found that aged migrant workers who migrated to relatively developed regions and cities accessed fewer health services. Such results signify that more attention should be paid to aged migrant workers’ use of health services in economically developed regions and cities, to eliminate regional differences in healthcare inequality.
Highlights
The association between different types of cities and the use of health services by aged migrant workers in China has not been widely reported in previous studies
Previous studies have already examined migrants’ use health services in China in terms of health records, health education, and medical service use [3,4,5]. Most of these studies have focused on the micro factors that closely relate to people at an individual level, like age, gender, socioeconomic status, and marital status [4,5,6], but these studies have not paid enough attention to macro-regional factors, such as regions of destination city or city types, which may be more relevant for the formulation of applicable or region-specific social policies
Earlier studies have determined that most migrant workers have difficulty obtaining the same health services as locals in their destination cities; little is known about health service use in different migration destination cities by aged migrants from rural areas
Summary
The association between different types of cities and the use of health services by aged migrant workers in China has not been widely reported in previous studies. Previous studies have already examined migrants’ use health services in China in terms of health records, health education, and medical service use [3,4,5] Most of these studies have focused on the micro factors that closely relate to people at an individual level, like age, gender, socioeconomic status, and marital status [4,5,6], but these studies have not paid enough attention to macro-regional factors, such as regions of destination city or city types, which may be more relevant for the formulation of applicable or region-specific social policies. Research on the use of health service employing a macro regional living analytical perspective can provide evidence on the relationship between city type and the health service use in the context of population movement This will help in identifying whether there are health inequalities across cities, as well as the effort needed to improve the use of public health services among the aged rural-to-urban migrant workers in China and by extension other developing countries
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