Related Experiment Videos
Use of health services by Chinese elderly in Beijing
S E Foreman1, L C Yu, D Barley
1Department of Health Policy and Administration, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA. sef4@psuvm.psu.edu
Objectives:
This article provides an inquiry into use of health services by the elderly.
Methods:
The authors operationalize models of use with a survey of 350 elderly Chinese. Because the survey involves native Chinese, the empirical test can isolate functional social support as well as "structural" social supports (marriage, living with children).
Results:
The principal findings comport with prior work: the strongest determinants of the use of health services by the elderly are those that relate to need. In addition, structural social support impacts use but demonstrates complex patterns.
Conclusions:
The availability of family support increases physician visits while diminishing the probability of a hospital stay. Increased Western physician use ties to increased use of Chinese physicians and increased hospitalization. Functional social support plays a role as well. Finally, income effects did not play a large role in determining the use of health services among this population.