Elderly Workers Research Articles

Cardiometabolic profile of 15057 elderly Spanish workers: association of sociodemographic variables and tobacco consumption

BackgroundAging of the world population is one of the most significant demographic changes of our time. Populations older than 60 years are heterogeneous, and age is an independent cardiovascular risk factor aggravated by frailty, obesity, and diabetes, and influenced by several factors, including sex and socioeconomic status. The objective of this study was to calculate cardiovascular risk in workers of both sexes over 60 years of age and to assess whether there are difference s by sex, social class, smoking, and type of job.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in 15,057 elderly Spanish workers from different autonomous communities in Spain and with different labor occupations. Anthropometric, sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory values were determined. People were classified according to age from 60 to 64 years inclusive and from 65 to 69 years, smokers and non-smokers, and both blue-collar and white-collar workers. Subsequently, a multivariate analysis was carried out.ResultsMen, blue-collar workers, smokers, and aging were factors that influenced cardiovascular risk: with an OR of 3.27 (95% CI: 2.64–4.05) in people 65 years of age or older versus the younger group, and an OR of 3.15 (95% CI: 2.69–3.69) in smokers versus non-smokers. A stronger independent association was found between smoking, age, and cardiovascular risk. The risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver and liver fibrosis was much higher in men than in women, with an OR of 4.06 (95% CI: 3.66–4.50) for the former and an OR of 2.10 (95% CI: 1.95–2.26) for the BARD index.ConclusionsThe highest risk groups were observed in male subjects with a history of smoking and blue-collar workers and, as such, should be considered for cardiovascular risk screening programs.

AITUC & BMS Contribution to Labor Welfare: An Empirical Study in Andhra Pradesh

It is observed that a good number of Trade Unions are effectively functioning in India as well in Andhra Pradesh. It is identified that the AITUC & BMS Trade Unions are having distinct ideology and they are compassionate towards political system. Also observed that AITUC & BMS are functioning autonomously on its own agenda with a perception. Field, Factory, Office, and other un-organized workers are attached to the Trade Unions to their personal benefits. Labor always look for fringe benefits like job security, social security, scholarships to their children, take-home pay hike, congenial working conditions and post-retirement benefits etc. The study is mainly focused on to find out the gaps between the unions and workers. Samples collected from various sections of the Trade Union leaders and workers of age and service groups and gender. Several advanced tools were used to analyze data, like ANOVA, T-Test, Mann Whitney U Test, SPSS and the latest methods are applied to get accurate results. The main objective of the study is to find regulation between workmen and Trade Union.

Effect of Work–Family Conflict on Three-Child Fertility Intention of Working Women of Reproductive Age under the Background of Active Reproductive Support: The Moderating and Mediating Effects of Anxiety Disorders and Life Stress

The declining fertility rate has become an important social problem. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between work–family conflict (WFC), life stress (LS), generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) and three-child fertility intention (FI) in working women of reproductive age. The data comes from the survey of the 2021 China Family Health Index Survey. The Mplus8.3 software was used to analyze the selected cases of 1103 female workers of childbearing age between 19 and 35 years old, and they all answered the relevant questions about the willingness to have three children. The results showed that work–family conflict had a significant negative impact on three-child fertility intention of working women of reproductive age (β = −0.188, p < 0.001), The mediating effect found that anxiety disorder had a significant mediating effect between work–family conflict and three-child fertility intention of working women of childbearing age. In addition, the effect between work–family conflict and the three-child fertility intention of working women of reproductive age can be mediated through the chain-mediated effect of Life stress and anxiety disorders. At the same time, the regulating effect also found that life stress can effectively regulate the effect of work–family conflict on anxiety disorders. Therefore, it is necessary to alleviate the conflict between work and family to a certain extent, including employers giving women more understanding and care and reducing gender discrimination. In addition, relatives should also provide substantial labor support in family life. They can also rely on the community to establish childcare services, improve student night care services, and reduce the time cost of female education. Thereby alleviating the life stress and anxiety of female employees of childbearing age and improving their willingness to bear children.

Moderating influence of demographic variables on productivity and job stress of workers in electrical Occupations

The study investigated the moderating influence of demographic variables on productivity and job stress of workers in electrical occupations. Relevant research questions were answered while hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational research design and was carried out in the North Central States. The population for the study was 301 workers in electrical occupations. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled Demographic Variables, Job Stress and Productivity Questionnaire (DVJSPQ). The overall reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.96. Point–biserial correlation and regression analysis were employed to analyze data for answering research questions and hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that: demographic variables have a strong relationship with the productivity of workers in electrical occupations, age and educational qualification were significant moderators of the relationship between occupational stress and the productivity of workers in electrical occupations. Hence, workers in electrical occupations should be sensitized through workshops and seminars on how demographic variables influence their productivity and job stress in their occupations.

Relationships between vaccination, age, and mortality in the COVID-19 intensive care patients

Objectives: To investigate the effects of vaccination on age, mortality, and healthcare workers among patients followed in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit. Methods: We examined age, gender, occupation, demographic characteristics, comorbid diseases, hemogram, biochemistry parameters, coagulation tests, morbidity–mortality characteristics of 548 patients in Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital COVID-19 intensive care unit admitted between March and October 2021. In addition, the vaccination status of the patients and the type of vaccination were recorded via the Ministry of Health Vaccine Tracking System (VTS). Within the vaccine follow-up system, patients who received at least 2 doses of vaccine 4 weeks prior to study were considered vaccinated. Results: The data of 548 patients in the COVID-19 intensive care unit between March 2021 and October 2021 were analyzed. The mortality rate was 50.7% (n = 278). It was determined that 428 (78.1%) of the patients followed in the COVID-19 intensive care unit were not vaccinated. In terms of age distribution, the number of patients under the age of 65 was 357 (65.1%), while the number of patients aged 65 and over was 191 (34.9%). When mortality rates were compared based on vaccination status, the mortality rate in the unvaccinated group was found to be statistically significantly higher than in the vaccinated group (p < 0.05). Mortality rate in the vaccinated group was 12.5% whereas it was 61.4% in the unvaccinated group. Conclusions: Vaccination to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection reduces intensive care unit admission and reduces mortality rates. Being unvaccinated increases hospitalization and mortality in intensive care units in addition to carrying risks for all age groups.

It Is Better for Younger Workers: The Gain Cycle between Job Crafting and Work Engagement.

Job Crafting has been proposed as a new perspective, consisting in a bottom-up strategy to achieve person-job fit by emphasizing employees' active participation and spontaneous change in job design, which is specifically adequate for older workers. Despite this fact, the cyclical influence between Work Engagement and Job Crafting over time has been less researched. We postulated that a gain cycle could be observed in the relationships between Job Crafting and its outcomes. Hence, we tested a longitudinal moderated mediation model in which Work Engagement increases over time through an increment in Job Crafting behaviors (Hypothesis 1), while this process is moderated by workers' age (Hypothesis 2). The present study follows a three-wave design where participants (N = 126) responded to online surveys at three measurement waves, three months apart. At Time 1 and Time 3, we assessed Work Engagement, Job Crafting behavior, and demographic variables, while at Time 2 we only assessed Job Crafting. Our findings partially differ from what was expected. The findings supported that the relationship between Work Engagement at Time 1 and changes in Job Crafting behavior across time was negative and non-significant, failing to provide support for Hypothesis 1. Related to Hypothesis 2, our results are mixed. Although the interaction between changes in Job Crafting and workers' age did not demonstrate a statistical influence on Work Engagement at Time 3, our findings suggested that the direct influence was complemented by a negative indirect effect through the longitudinal increase of Job Crafting, which mainly affects aged workers. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Demystifying the Impact of Age on Safety Performance of Construction Workers: Examining the Mediating Roles of Experience and Fatigue

Construction is one of the most hazardous industries with high fatal and nonfatal accidents rates. However, many accidents could be prevented by improving workers’ safety performance. Numerous factors impact their performance, such as safety culture and attitude, distraction, and personal characteristics. Among these factors, age has been widely cited in past research, but there is no unanimity among researchers regarding its impact on workers’ safety performance. Both positive and negative impacts of age on safety performance have been reported in studies, along with several researchers who found no significant difference in safety performance among workers of different ages. To demystify the impact of age on construction workers’ safety performance, this research hypothesizes that the relationship between age and safety performance is mediated by other factors such as experience and fatigue. A survey was conducted among 135 randomly selected participants from 38 construction sites in Iran. The survey consisted of three sections, namely demographic information, subjective fatigue assessment, and safety performance measurement. Statistical analysis revealed that the relationship between age and safety performance is mediated by experience and fatigue, explaining the disparity among past research findings. The findings of this study highlight that age does not have a direct impact, but an indirect impact mediated by multiple factors, on workers’ safety performance. Future research must consider mediating factors when studying the role of age in workers’ safety performance. The results suggest that researchers and practitioners should focus on other factors such as fatigue and safety training, which employers can positively influence.

Association of Screen Time with Shoulder Pain and Disability among Office Workers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

Purpose: The study was conducted to determine the association of screen time with the shoulder pain and disability among office workers. Method: A cross sectional Analytical study was conducted on office workers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi from July 2020 To January 2021. 370 office workers of age 25-45 and having working hours greater than 6 were included in the study. Association between the variables was checked by calculating r value of SPADI variables individually with screen time and it was 0.271 for Screen time and SPADI pain scale, 0.240 for Screen time and SPADI disability scale, and 0.245 for Screen time and total SPADI score. Findings: As all the values lies between 0-0.3, it shows that there is a weak positive co-relation between the Screen time and Shoulder pain and disability. The results of the current study concluded that there is a week positive correlation between the screen time and SPADI. Practical Implications: Overusing screen-based technologies is creating issues in the community by harming physical health, contributing to bad posture, and misaligning the skeleton. Therefore, the research will provide a starting point for data from which additional research can be done. Keywords: SPADI pain and disability, Shoulder disability, Painful Shoulder, Office workers and screen time.

Changes in ambulatory blood pressure during the transition to retirement.

Retirement is a major life event characterized by removal of work-related stressors and changes in health behaviours. The association between retirement and changes in blood pressure (BP), and particularly in ambulatory BP, has been scarcely studied. We aimed to examine changes in ambulatory BP during retirement transition. Two hundred and fifty ageing workers (mean age 63.2 years, 84% women) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study participated in annual office BP measurements and 114 (mean age 63.1, 90% women) of them underwent annual ambulatory BP measurements before and after retirement. On average, the participants provided data on ambulatory BP at 2.7 (range 2-4) measurements. We used generalized linear models to examine BP changes at retirement. Most marked changes in BP during the follow-up were observed for asleep SBP, which decreased before retirement, increased during retirement transition and plateaued after retirement (before retirement vs. retirement transition P = 0.07 and after retirement vs. retirement transition P = 0.02). Awake SBP and 24-h SBP declined with most apparent decrease before retirement (before retirement vs. retirement transition P = 0.07 and P = 0.07). Awake DBP and 24-h DBP showed relatively consistent decline throughout the follow-up with no differences between the time periods. SBP and DBP dipping reduced before and during retirement transition, but not after retirement. Among shift workers, asleep BP increased and BP dipping decreased more than in regular day workers. Retirement was found to associate with beneficial changes in awake BP but unfavourable changes in asleep BP, especially in shift workers.

Possible Association between Physical and Cognitive Function and Stumbling and Falling in Elderly Workers.

The aim of this paper is to examine the association between physical and cognitive function and stumbling and falling in elderly workers by conducting work-related questionnaire surveys and physical and cognitive function measurements. A total of 611 men and 121 women aged 40-69 years who participated in physical function measurements between June 2017 and June 2021 were included in the study. The general physical function measurements of upper and lower limb muscle strength, dynamic and static balance, and agility and cognitive function included grip strength, Repeated Rise Test, Trail Making test (TMT), and Three-Meter Time Up Go Test (TUG). We also asked the men and women about their experience of falling and stumbling. Logistic regression analysis showed significant odds ratios (OR) for the associations between stumbling in men and age (OR: 1.98), mental burden (OR: 2.44), frequency of field work (OR: 1.74), seated stepping test count (OR: 0.95), and TMTB time (OR: 0.99). Significant ORs were found between falling in men and age (OR: 2.55), mental burden (OR: 2.40), exercise habits (OR: 2.55), and smoking (OR: 2.00). Significant ORs were found between stumbling in women and d_TUG (OR: 1.59) and mental burden (OR: 6.42). The study suggests that there may be an association between cognitive and physical decline and stumbling and falling in elderly workers.

Mental health and well-being of students at TU Dresden

Abstract Background University life can be a particularly challenging phase in the development of young adults. Current research shows that mental disorders occur more frequently in students compared to workers of the same age. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the problem. The TUDo! Study, done in cooperation with the FU Berlin, aimed to assess the health status of students at TU Dresden, with a focus on mental health. Methods In 2020/2021 students at TU Dresden (excluding students in the medical school) completed an online-based questionnaire. Validated questionnaires, e.g. the PHQ 4 (depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder) and the ERI student (student gratification crisis) were used. We evaluated descriptively and analytically, according to the questionnaire-specific specifications. Results A total of 2,683 students (12.3%) at the TU Dresden took part in the survey. The majority of study participants were female (n = 1,507; 56.7%) and had an average age of 22.9 years (SD = 4.3). 32.8% (n = 856/2,611) of the participating students reported a depressive syndrome and 32.5% (n = 848/2,612) a generalized anxiety disorder. Almost half of participating students (40,0%; n = 515/1,310) indicated an imbalance between effort (E) and reward (R) (ER ratio>1). 51.23% (n = 693/1,50) of respondents reported a decline of mental well-being because of the coronavirus pandemic. Discussion Unlike similar studies, this study shows that TU Dresden students were particularly affected with regards to perceived psychological stress and complaints. The existing differences seem to be partly due to the coronavirus pandemic. These results indicate that universities should regularly check their studying conditions and provide appropriate preventive measures. Key messages • Students are at higher risk than workers of the same age for mental health problems. • Students reported a decline in mental well-being due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Use it too much and lose everything? The effects of hours of work on health

In this paper, we extend the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis to analyse whether the negative effects of working hours eventually dominate the positive effects of work as the hours of work increase. Using panel data from the HILDA survey, we estimate the optimal hours of work for the health status of middle age and elderly workers. We deal with the potential endogeneity of working hours by using the instrumental variable estimation technique with instruments based on the age for pension eligibility. For males working relatively moderate hours (up to around 24–27 h a week), an increase in working hours has a positive impact on their health outcomes, but thereafter an increase in working hours has a negative impact on health outcomes. When weekly working hours exceed 50 h, an individual's health status is worse off than when he is not working at all.

Study on the relationship between the pathological type of lung cancer caused by coke oven discharge and the contact type and exposure time

Objective: To study the pathological types of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions and analyze the correlation between different exposure levels. Methods: In October 2020, the relevant data of 86 confirmed cases of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions (including basic information of patients, relevant occupational exposure and clinical data) were collected, The workers were grouped according to the different COEs concentrations in their posts: workers in auxiliary posts were taken as the low exposure group (11 persons) , The workers at coke side and furnace bottom are the medium exposure group (14 persons) , and the workers at furnace top are the high exposure group (61 persons) , and the correlation between pathological types of lung cancer and different exposure levels was analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in age and length of service among the groups (P>0.05) ; The number of lung cancer cases and pathological types among workers in each group were statistically significant (P=0.044) . After adjusting for interference factors, the number of undifferentiated cancers (mainly small cell lung cancer) increased with the increase of exposure level, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.001) . The incidence of lung cancer increased gradually with the length of service, and the incidence rate of lung cancer among workers of different working ages was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Undifferentiated small cell carcinoma is the most common pathological type of lung cancer caused by coke oven emissions, and the incidence of lung cancer tends to increase with the length of service.

Managing an ageing healthcare workforce: a systematic literature review

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to review research conducted on managing the ageing healthcare workforce and identify gaps for further research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature search of studies in the English language was carried out in Scopus and Web of Science databases.FindingsThe study consists of an analysis of 75 published articles. The majority of the papers were published in recent years, indicating a growing interest in the field. The authors specified the following inclusion criteria: all years, articles/reviews, English language and full text in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The authors of the paper illustrated seven major categories with different topics that were suggested for future research. It included: challenges of labor market in the healthcare field, age-related changes and their influence on work ability, training opportunities and lifelong learning among ageing health workforce, motives of early retirement, ageing and its relationship to Occupational Health and Safety. Longitudinal studies and case study strategy with mixed-methods approaches were suggested for future research by the authors.Originality/valueThe paper summarizes knowledge related to the management of ageing health workforce, describes topics researched and as a result, presents findings on and conclusions about the most important future implications of the ageing workforce for management in the healthcare field providing lines for further research. To the authors' knowledge, no holistic systematic literature reviews have been published in academic journals targeted specifically to ageing healthcare workers.

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia (qPAD) using a large sample of staff from Australian residential aged care homes.

The Questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia (qPAD) is increasingly being used to assess residential aged care workers' knowledge and attitudes about palliative care for people with dementia. The qPAD developers performed an exploratory factor analysis and assessed the internal consistency using a small sample. The aim of this study was to further assess the structural validity of the qPAD using a large sample of qPAD responses from staff who work in residential aged care homes in Australia. Data from 727 care staff who participated in an Australian dementia palliative care training project were used for exploratory factor analyses, assessment of internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis of the knowledge test and attitude scale components of the qPAD. The exploratory factor analysis of the knowledge test produced a four-factor solution. One item loaded weakly, and four items had cross-loadings. Factor labels for the knowledge test were difficult to define. Factor analysis of the attitude scale produced a three-factor structure with good internal consistency-Feeling valued and part of the care team (α=0.88), Family and team engagement (α=0.75) and Perceptions and beliefs (α=0.83). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated improvements in model fit were needed for both the knowledge test and attitude scale. The findings of this factor analysis differed from the original study. The attitude scale produced a three-factor structure, but the knowledge test requires further development due to weak and cross-loadings of several items, inadequate internal consistency of factors and poor model fit.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Tuberculosis Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Among the General Population in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia.

Background Religious gatherings like the Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage, attract millions of people to one place during the same time frame. Due to crowding, infectious diseases, specifically tuberculosis (TB), are very common during such events. This study investigates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the public in the western region of Saudi Arabia related to TB to better understand the situation. Methodology An observational, questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was conducted over two months between January and March 2022. A survey of 29 questions was used to collect data from the general population. The study included any person who was a resident of Makkah. Individuals under 18 years of age and health workers were excluded. We used OpenEpi, version 3.0, for sample size calculation, which gave a result of 604 participants, and SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for data analysis. Results A total of 604 participants were included in this study; 64.7% of respondents showed poor overall knowledge, and 14.1% had good knowledge of TB. Concerning attitude, 89.9% of the respondents showed poor attitude, and only 2.3% had a good attitude. As for practice, 59.4% of respondents had poor knowledge of proper practices, and only 10.4% knew the right practices regarding TB. Upon further analysis of our results, women exhibited better knowledge of TB than men (0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.44-0.87). Participants over 50 years old had the lowest knowledge about TB compared with participants aged 18 to 28 years old (7.61, 95% CI, 4.35-13.32). Non-Saudi residents had less knowledge compared with Saudi residents (45.849, 95% CI, 18.475-113.78). Level of education also played a substantial role; university graduates had the most knowledge about TB compared with participants with below university or no formal education (0.052, 95% CI, 0.01-0.40). Conclusions Participants with lower educational backgrounds were the most lacking in knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding TB. This lack of knowledge was more common among non-Saudi men over 50 years old. Information campaigns are needed to help reduce the prevalence of TB.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Self-Medication Among the General Population in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Self-medication (SM) is defined as consuming pharmaceutical drugs without the advice of a physician for either diagnosis or treatment. Reliance on self-medication has become a more common worldwide issue and now plays a major role in self-care. However, the practice is linked to many risks for patients and the whole community. This study assesses knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with self-medication in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods This is an observational questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted over two months, between January and March 2022. The survey comprised 29 questions adapted from similar studies and was translated into Arabic to fit the study population. All residents of the three major cities, Makkah, Jeddah, and Taif, were included; the population under 18 years of age and health workers were excluded. We used OpenEpi version 3.0 (www.OpenEpi.com) for sample size calculation and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM Corp, Armonk, USA) was used for data analysis. Results Most of the participants (67.7%) declared that they practiced self-medication: (28.6%) menand (39.1%) women. Self-medicating for different indications showed differences between men and women but without statistical significance. Major indications for self-medicating were headache (45.3%), cough, cold/flu (42.7%), and fever (34.0%). The primary reasons participants gave for choosing to self-medicate were easy availability of the medicines (41.4%) and that they were treating a minor illness (40.8%). Many types of medicines were used, most commonly analgesics (44.0%) and antipyretics (43.6%). Conclusion The practice of self-medication is high among the population in Makkah, Jeddah, and Taif. Educating the public on the consequences and adverse effects is necessary.

Current Status of Elderly Social Support Services in Elderly Care Centers in Hanoi

The Article aims to elaborate and analyze the current status of social support services for the elderly in general and semi-professional social work services provided in care centers in Hanoi in particular today. The centers subject to the investigation include Social Protection Center 3 Hanoi, Dien Hong Nursing Home, Bach Nien Thien Duc Elderly Care Center, and Social Protection Center 2 Hanoi. The service performance is determined based on the satisfaction of the needs of the elderly group. The results evidence that from the point of view of the elderly, “the need for medical care, examination and treatment is the highest among other needs of the elderly (with 149 votes, taking up 64.2%), from the point of view of social support workers, the need for “someone to share their feelings” is the highest (with 144 votes, taking up 77.4%). The services subject to assessment and review to the extent of the Article include (1) Consultancy; (2) Legal aid; (3) Supporting the elderly in the integration; (4) Communication. The frequency of rendered services changes at the “sometimes received by the elderly” level, approx. 50% on average. The level of performance as assessed by the elderly and social workers is at a medium and quite high level, ranging from 2.26 to 3.30 and from 1.98 (high) to 3.1 (medium), respectively. Keywords: the elderly, social support services, care centers DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-20-04 Publication date: October 31 st 2022

Impact of COVID-19 inequalities on children: An intersectional analysis.

Societal concerns about the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic have largely focussed on the social groups most directly affected, such as the elderly and health workers. However, less focus has been placed on understanding the effects on other collectives, such as children. While children’s physical health appears to be less affected than the adult population, their mental health, learning and wellbeing is likely to have been significantly negatively affected during the pandemic due to the varying policy restrictions, such as withdrawal from face to face schooling, limited peer‐to‐peer interactions and mobility and increased exposure to the digital world amongst other things. Children from vulnerable social backgrounds, and especially girls, will be most negatively affected by the impact of COVID‐19, given their different intersecting realities and the power structures already negatively affecting them. To strengthen the understanding of the social determinants of the COVID‐19 crisis that unequally influence children’s health and wellbeing, this article presents a conceptual framework that considers the multiple axes of inequalities and power relations. This understanding can then be used to inform analyses and impact assessments, and in turn inform the development of effective and equitable mitigation strategies as well as assist to be better prepared for future pandemics.

City Bias: Affordable Housing Accessibility Assessment—Evidence From 153 Prefectural Cities in China

This study explores the invisible bias quantification of urban governments in their affordable housing service delivery, which can accurately identify the deficiencies of affordable housing policy and alleviate homelessness, poverty, and inequality. We identified complicated eligibility criteria for public rental housing programs in 153 prefectural cities and constructed a public rental housing accessibility index for urban residents and migrants. We used the principal component analysis method; this study offers a new perspective to explore these disparities. We found distinct regional differences in local governments’ behaviors and preferences regarding affordable housing. Cities’ affordable housing provision for migrants is selective and mainly targets young and highly educated migrants. We suggest that local governments pay more attention to elderly migrant workers in affordable housing provision and build a comprehensive evaluation system to set reasonable access conditions to prioritize those with urgent housing needs.