Steel structures – structural engineering (original) (raw)

Does Social Support Affect the Health of the Elderly in Rural China? A Meta-Analysis Approach

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019

As the trend of aging in rural China has intensified, research on the factors affecting the health of the elderly in rural areas has become a hot issue. However, the conclusions of existing studies are inconsistent and even contradictory, making it difficult to form constructive policies with practical value. To explore the reasons for the inconsistent conclusions drawn by relevant research, in this paper we constructed a meta-regression database based on 65 pieces of relevant literature published in the past 25 years. For more valid samples to reduce publication bias, we also set the statistical significance of social support to the health of the elderly in rural areas as a dependent variable. Finally, combined with multi-dimensional social support and its implications for the health of the elderly, meta-regression analysis was carried out on the results of 171 empirical studies. The results show that (1) subjective support rather than objective support can have a significant impac...

An Empirical Analysis of Mental Health and Social Support in the Elderly of Different Age Groups: A Survey and Analysis of Data from China

Occupational Therapy International

To explore the effects of social support on the mental health of older adults in different age groups in China, and to provide reference for the development of social support policies to promote the mental health of older adults in China. This paper uses a random sampling method to conduct a questionnaire survey of 3,000 older adults aged 60 years or older in Nanjing and a dichotomous logistic regression model for empirical analysis. The two dimensions of mental health and social adjustment were used to measure the mental health status of the elderly. The results showed that the overall mental health status of the elderly in Nanjing city was more optimistic, and the nonempty nesters with male gender, higher education level, and partners were generally healthier; objective and subjective support had significant positive effects on the mental health of middle and high aged elderly, while the utilization of support had more significant effects on the health of low-aged elderly. This pa...

Social Support, Health Service Use and Mental Health Among Caregivers of the Elderly in Rural China

Ageing International, 2010

This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the status of social support, health service use and mental health among caregivers for the elderly in a Chinese rural community. With randomized stratified sampling method, 199 caregivers providing long-term care for the elderly recruited from a Chinese rural community responded to the survey and were administered the questionnaire, measuring the caregiving outcome for the elderly. The social support was assessed with the social support scale (SSS) and social network scale (SNS). Health service utilization was assessed with the questionnaire on health service use (HSU). Depression was evaluated with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Most caregivers are elder's spouse (39.7%), son (26.1%) and daughter-in-law (18.1%). Three common health service used by the caregivers are visiting physician (68.0%), help from relatives or friends (43.9%) and seeking help of herbal doctors or traditional healers (34.0%). Between caregivers for healthy and non-healthy elders, there was significant difference of depression scale score (t= 3.195, p<0.01), not of SSS and SNS scale scores (p>0.05). The score of depression Ageing Int (2010) 35:72-84 scale are associated with caregivers' age (β=0.260) and income (β=−0.231), carerecipients' gender (β=0.187) and age (β=0.800), caring time (β=0.138) and the total SNS score (β=−0.194) (all p<0.05). The findings suggest, in Chinese rural area, family provides main source for caregiving to the elderly, with spouse and sons playing central roles. Most often elderly caregivers utilize medical resources. Depression during the process of caregiving is associated with caregivers and carerecipients' background characteristics, with potential mediator effect of social support. It is implied that social support may be important when providing mental health service to the elderly caregivers in Chinese rural areas.

Family support, financial needs, and health care needs of rural elderly in China: a field study

Journal of cross-cultural gerontology, 1999

This study examined family support, financial needs, and health care needs of 100 elderly persons in a rural county in China. Data revealed that immediate family members helped elderly persons with activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and that adult children also provided financial assistance to most of the elderly. However, only eight percent of the elderly persons reported that they had adequate financial resources. In the four villages surveyed, collective health care systems had collapsed in the early 1980's. Due to high costs of health care and the absence of government support, almost two thirds of the elderly persons had unmet needs for health care. In addition, elderly persons who reported poor health were more likely to have unmet financial and health care needs.

Relocation and Social Support Among Older Adults in Rural China

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2015

China's economic reforms have led to millions of citizens being relocated to support infrastructure development, reduce poverty, and address ecological, disaster-related and other concerns. This study expands on previous research on the implications of relocation in China by examining the impact of rural elders' relocation on the perceived availability of emotional, instrumental, and financial support. Data were drawn from the Ankang Study of Aging and Health conducted with a representative sample of 1,062 rural residents aged 60 and over living in Ankang, China. Two-stage probit and least squares regression models assessed the impact of relocation on familial and nonfamilial emotional, instrumental, and financial support. Relocation was negatively associated with the number of social support resources that older adults perceived as being available. Although this was the case with regard to both familial and nonfamilial support, it was particularly evident with regard to fam...

Economic Stress, Quality of Life, and Mortality for the Oldest-Old in China

Social Indicators Research, 2011

China's oldest old population is estimated to quadruple by 2050. Yet, poverty rate for the oldest old has been the highest among all age groups in China. This paper investigates the relationship between economic stress, quality of life, and mortality among the oldest-old in China. Both objective economic hardships and perceived economic strain are examined. We base our investigation on data drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted between 2000 and 2005. Our sample includes 10,972 men and women between the ages of 80 and 105 in 2000. The data show that about 16% of these oldest-old lived under economic stress in 2000. The risk factors that make one vulnerable to economic stress include age, being male, being widowed or never married, being a minority member, having no education, having no living children, and not having children as main source of income, and having no pension. Economic stress is negatively associated with indicators of quality of life, such as the quality of medical care and mental well-being. The poor quality of life contributes to the higher mortality rate for the oldest old who are under economic stress. Results also show that perceived economic strain increases the risk of mortality by 42% in rural areas, even after controlling for basic demographic characteristics, life style factors, and major health events. For the rural oldest-old, having children as a main source of income and having access to pension alleviates the negative impact of economic hardship on mortality hazard by 23 and 66% respectively. However, in urban areas, economic stress has no direct impact on the hazard of mortality.

The Effects of Family, Community, and Public Policy on Depressive Symptoms among Elderly Chinese

Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 2014

Economic reforms during the past few decades in China have been associated with migration of young Chinese from rural to urban centers. This migration as well as the one-child policy and increased longevity have affected the well-being of the elderly, who largely remain in rural residences. An erosion of the cultural tradition of filial piety has resulted and may adversely affect the mental health of a growing elderly population and increase the risk ofdeveloping depressive symptoms. We analyzed data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study that were collected in 2011. These data were from anationally representative and publicly available dataset, which provided comprehensive information about individuals aged ≥ 45 years in China. We evaluated the associations between 3 types of social support (family, community, and public) and depressive symptoms in the Chinese elderly (≥ 60 years) with a focus on age differentials and type of residential registration (urban or rural hukou). The results indicated that components of family, community, and public support were significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms. These components included living with a spouse, having frequent contact with children, having a senior center in the community, receiving a subsidy from the local agency, and receiving a pension. Also, the elderly living in a rural hukou had greater levels of depressive symptoms, and depressive symptoms in this population were most significantly and negatively affected by having a senior center in the community and receiving a local subsidy. Moreover, none of the three support mechanisms significantly affected the depressive symptoms of the oldest old. These results suggest that specific types of social support may negatively affect depressive symptomsand provide opportunities for targeted interventionsfrom community leaders and policy-makers that improve mental health and well-being among a growing elderly population in China.

Psychological wellbeing, physical impairments and rural aging in a developing country setting

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2009

Background There has been very little research on wellbeing, physical impairments and disability in older people in developing countries. Methods A community survey of 1147 older parents, one per household, aged sixty and over in rural Thailand. We used the Burvill scale of physical impairment, the Thai Psychological Wellbeing Scale and the brief WHO Disability Assessment Schedule. We rated received and perceived social support separately from children and from others and rated support to children. We used weighted analyses to take account of the sampling design. Results Impairments due to arthritis, pain, paralysis, vision, stomach problems or breathing were all associated with lower wellbeing. After adjusting for disability, only impairment due to paralysis was independently associated with lowered wellbeing. The effect of having two or more impairments compared to none was associated with lowered wellbeing after adjusting for demographic factors and social support (adjusted difference -2.37 on the well-being scale with SD = 7.9, p < 0.001) but after adjusting for disability the coefficient fell and was non-significant. The parsimonious model for wellbeing included age, wealth, social support, disability and impairment due to paralysis (the effect of paralysis was -2.97, p = 0.001). In this Thai setting, received support from children and from others and perceived good support from and to children were all independently associated with greater wellbeing whereas actual support to children was associated with lower wellbeing. Low received support from children interacted with paralysis in being especially associated with low wellbeing. Conclusion In this Thai setting, as found in western settings, most of the association between physical impairments and lower wellbeing is explained by disability. Disability is potentially mediating the association between impairment and low wellbeing. Received support may buffer the impact of some impairments on wellbeing in this setting. Giving actual support to children is associated with less wellbeing unless the support being given to children is perceived as good, perhaps reflecting parental obligation to support adult children in need. Improving community disability services for older people and optimizing received social support will be vital in rural areas in developing countries.

The Elderly and Old Age Support in Rural China: Challenges and Prospects

Research Papers in Economics, 2012

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