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Effects of social assistance on self-rated health

Siqi Shao1, Tiantian Che2, Deshui Zhou3

  • 1Liaoning Police College, Department of Public Security Management, Dalian, China.

Frontiers in Public Health
|November 7, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Social assistance, including medical and life aid, negatively impacts self-rated health. These findings are consistent across various demographic groups and regions in China, highlighting the need for policy refinement.

Area of Science:

  • Social Sciences
  • Health Economics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Social assistance programs are crucial for resident well-being.
  • Understanding the nuanced effects of different assistance types on health is vital for policy development.
  • Previous research has not fully explored the differential impacts of medical and life assistance on self-rated health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically analyze the influence of medical assistance and life assistance on self-rated health in China.
  • To investigate the heterogeneity of these influences across different demographic and regional groups.
  • To provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing social assistance policies.

Main Methods:

  • Empirical analysis using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data from 2018.
  • Application of the Oprobit model for statistical analysis.
  • Robustness checks including variable substitution and propensity score matching.

Main Results:

  • Both medical assistance and life assistance demonstrate significant negative associations with self-rated health.
  • The negative impact of medical assistance is more pronounced among urban residents and those in Central and East China.
  • Life assistance shows a stronger negative effect on self-rated health in urban populations and residents of Central, East, and Northeast China.

Conclusions:

  • Social assistance, while intended to support, may inadvertently decrease self-rated health.
  • Targeted policy adjustments are needed to mitigate negative health impacts and enhance the effectiveness of social aid.
  • Accurate utilization of medical and life assistance is essential for improving overall resident health outcomes.

Keywords:
anti-povertylife assistancemedical assistanceself-rated healthurban residents

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