Search Results (10)

Background: Loneliness and social isolation among older people are currently widespread and recognized as the foremost public health problems globally and locally. Hong Kong, which exhibits a rapid aging trend and an expanding elderly population, is inevitably facing these issues. This study explored the lived experiences of loneliness among older adults in Hong Kong. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted among older adults in the community aged 60 or above who were cared for by migrant domestic workers and presented varying levels of loneliness. Purposive sampling was used to select subjects for face-to-face, semi-structured individual interviews, with consent for audio recording, which led to the inclusion of 19 older adults, among whom five were male, nine lived with a spouse, and three lived with their children. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was adopted. Results: We identified a core theme, “Should I stay at home alone?”, and the following four interrelated themes: (1) experience of inadequate social support and networks, (2) altered family dynamics and support, (3) deterioration in physical functions and mobility limitations, and (4) experience of negative and complex emotions. Conclusions: Based on our investigation into the lived experience of loneliness among older adults locally, we recommend that the government, non-governmental organizations, and healthcare institutions establish appropriate strategies and integrated services to address the social, physical, familial, and emotional issues in this population to foster healthy aging, improve their quality of life, and encourage support from families and communities. Full article

As urbanization accelerates in China, more and more rural elders are moving to cities to live with their children. However, they face challenges in overcoming cultural, social, and economic disparities and maintaining health in urban life, and health is important human capital that may have a significant impact on the urban adaptation of rural elderly migrants (REMs). Based on the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this paper constructs an indicator system to measure the level of urban adaptation of REMs. The health level and urban adaptation of REMs are studied in depth, and how to better help them adapt to urban life in order to provide a healthy living environment and a good lifestyle is explored. The empirical analysis finds the following: (1) good health helps REMs achieve a better level of urban adaptation. (2) REMs with good health status are more likely to go to community clubs for activities and do physical activities and thus improve their urban adaptation level. (3) There are significant differences in the effects of health status on urban adaptation among REMs with different characteristics. REMs with better health status in the central and western regions have significantly higher levels of urban adaptation than those in the eastern regions, and men have higher levels of urban adaptation than women. Therefore, the government should construct classification measures according to the differentiated characteristics of rural elderly migrants’ urban adaptation, and guide and support their stratified and orderly adaptation to urban society. Full article

This study explored the relationship between health service utilization, informal social support and depression, anxiety and stress among the internal migrant elderly following children (IMEFC) in Weifang, China. A total of 613 IMEFC were selected using multistage cluster random sampling. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) was used to assess the depression, anxiety and stress of the IMEFC. Descriptive analysis and univariate and binary logistic regression analyses were used to clarify the correlation between health service utilization and social support and depression, anxiety and stress of the IMEFC. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress of the IMEFC was 6.9%, 7.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that the IMEFC who having financial stress on medical costs were more likely to feel depressed than those haven’t financial stress on medical costs (OR = 6.557), while those unemployed and having no income were less likely to feel depressed than those employed (OR = 0.262), having children support were less likely to feel depressed than those haven’t children support (OR = 0.257) and having comfort support were less likely to feel depressed than haven’t comfort support (OR = 0.018). Trans-city migration were more likely to feel anxious than trans-county migration (OR = 3.198), having outpatient service were more likely to feel anxious than haven’t experienced inpatient service (OR = 3.818), having financial stress on medical costs were more likely to feel anxious than haven’t financial stress on medical costs (OR = 3.726), while having children support were less likely to feel anxious than haven’t children support (OR = 0.198). Those who migrate to cure disease or rehabilitation were more likely to feel stressed than those migrated to taking care of grandchildren (OR = 12.702) and having financial stress on medical costs were more likely to feel stressed than haven’t financial stress on medical costs (OR = 32.155), while having children support were less likely to feel stressed than haven’t children support (OR = 0.055) and having economic support in troubles were less likely to feel stressed than haven’t economic support in troubles (OR = 0.012). More effective measures should be taken to improve the accessibility and efficiency of cross-regional health insurance reimbursement, and family members should spend more time with the IMEFC to lower their psychological tension in a new environment. Full article

Few studies have focused on the sleep quality among migrant elderly following children (MEFC). This study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic disease and mental health on the sleep quality of MEFC in Weifang, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted by multi-stage cluster random sampling, and in total 613 participants were enrolled. Sleep quality and mental health were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. Chronic disease was assessed by the question “how many chronic diseases do you have?” A descriptive analysis and chi-square test were used to describe participants’ sociodemographic variables, chronic disease, mental health, and sleep quality. The relationship between chronic disease, mental health, and sleep quality was explored by establishing binary logistic regression models. The results showed that 18.3% of MEFC’s sleep quality was poor. MEFCs who were male were more likely to report good sleep quality. MEFCs who have similar monthly family income compared with others around, with multimorbidity, depression, and anxiety were more likely to report poor sleep quality. Nearly 1/5 of MEFCs were having poor sleep quality in this study. Results indicated that chronic diseases, depression, and anxiety were risk factors for the sleep quality of MEFC. Implications for the government, communities, and families of MEFC were given for improving their sleep quality. Full article

As urbanization is growing quickly in China, many migrant elderly following children (MEFC) migrate to big cities to care for their grandchildren (grandchildren of MEFC=GMEFC). This study aimed to explore the effects of the living environment, health statuses of family members, and MEFC’s attitude regarding the care of their children (children of MEFC=CMEFC) for their GMEFC on GMEFC’s health statuses in Weifang, China. Multistage cluster random sampling was used to select the participants, and 613 MEFC were included in total. Descriptive analysis, univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were used to investigate the association between the related variables and GMEFC’s health statuses. It was found that 74.9% of the GMEFC had excellent health statuses. The GMEFC who had siblings, the CMEFC with excellent health statuses, and the MEFC with excellent health statuses were more likely to have excellent health statuses. Moreover, the GMEFC who were female, elevators occasionally malfunctioned, the MEFC who were dissatisfied with the CMEFC’s time spent on caring, and the MEFC who did not understand or forgive the CMEFC’s limited time on caring were less likely to have GMEFC with excellent health statuses. The results indicated that a better living environment, better health statuses of family members, and a positive attitude of the MEFC regarding the care of CMEFC for GMEFC would result in a better health status of GMEFC. Full article

This study explored the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, morbidity, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the migrant elderly following children (MEFC) in Weifang, China. A total of 613 MEFC were selected using multistage cluster random sampling. The GOHAI scale was used to evaluate oral health-related quality of life. The DASS-21 scale was used to assess levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the correlation between these indicators and oral health-related quality of life, of which 43.9% were classified as having poor oral health. Logistic regression analysis showed that the MEFC who were of older age (OR = 0.965, p = 0.039), with hypertension (OR = 0.567, p = 0.004), with gastroenteropathy (OR = 0.263, p = 0.007), had received an outpatient service in the past year (OR = 0.669, p = 0.048), were depressed (OR = 0.338, p = 0.012), and anxious (OR = 0.414, p = 0.026) were less likely to report good oral health status. On the other hand, the MEFC with a high school education or above (OR = 1.872, p = 0.020) were more likely to report good oral health than those with primary school education and below. In conclusion, with regard to depression, anxiety, and stress: the results indicated that the fewer morbidities, the lower the level of depression and anxiety and the better the OHRQoL of MEFC. Targeted measures for government, communities, and family members were given to improve the OHRQoL of MEFC. Full article

Background: Driven by accelerating population aging and migration, the number of older migrants has increased rapidly in China. Those who moved to cities to look after grandchildren were referred to as the migrant elderly following children (MEFC). This study aims to examine the relationship between sense of belonging and loneliness and explore the moderating effect of migration pattern among the MEFC in China. Methods: The study included 656 MEFC aged 60 years and above. Loneliness was evaluated by the eight-item University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (ULS-8). Sense of belonging and migration pattern were measured using a self-designed questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to test the proposed association and moderating effect. A margins plot was introduced to illustrate this effect. Results: The average ULS-8 score was 12.82 ± 4.05, revealing a low level of loneliness. A weak sense of belonging was related with a higher level of loneliness (β = 0.096, p = 0.014). Migration pattern was found to exacerbate this association (β = 0.138, p = 0.026), especially for the elderly who migrated across provinces. Conclusions: Sense of belonging was correlated with loneliness, and the moderating role of migration pattern was established. Both policymakers and the adult children of inter-provincial migrant elderly should focus on this special subgroup. Full article

Social support has been demonstrated to be associated with the health status of old adults, but no study has clarified the relationship between social support, morbidities and self-rated health among the migrant elderly following children (MEFC) to new cities. This study aimed to explore the effect of social support and morbidities on self-rated health among MEFC to Jinan, China. A total of 656 MEFC were included in this study by using multi-stage cluster random sampling. Social support was measured by the Social Support Rating Scale. Correlation analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysis were employed to clarify the association between social support, morbidities and self-rated health among the MEFC. Approximately 75.9% of the MEFC rated their health as good. Logistic regression analysis showed that MEFC who lived with family were more likely to have a higher level of self-rated health. In addition to social support, body mass index (BMI), monthly income, one-year living style, the presence of an elevator, heart disease, stroke, duration of chronic disease, and outpatient service attendance were also associated with the self-rated health of MEFC. Social support and morbidities were significantly associated with self-rated health among MEFC. Targeted policies should be made to improve social support status and lower the morbidities in MEFC. Full article

With accelerated urbanization in China, an increasing number of the migrant elderly following children (MEFC) have appeared. This study aims to explore the effects of living conditions, subjective integration, and social networks on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of MEFC in Jinan, China. HRQOL was assessed by the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, which included the mental component summary (MCS) and the physical component summary (PCS). Univariate analyses and binary logistic regression were used to investigate the association between the above indicators and HRQOL. A total of 656 MEFC were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling, 25.2% and 25.0% of whom were defined as poor MCS and poor PCS, respectively. Those who understood the local dialect, could trust others, and connected with friends were more likely to have good MCS; those with a nanny, faulty elevator, and no support from their spouse were the reverse. MEFC who were trans-city, had no elevator or a faulty elevator, and went to the hospital alone were more likely to have poor PCS; those who approved of living conditions in their hometowns were the reverse. Results indicated that better living conditions, stronger subjective integration, and wider social networks led to higher HRQOL of MEFC. Implications of the government, communities, and families of MEFC were given to improve their HRQOL. Full article

Objective: To understand the current situation and influencing factors of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) of migrant workers in Western China. Method: Sample data were obtained by cluster random sampling. Data were entered and sorted using Epidata 3.1 and SPSS 21.0. The statistical analysis involved a descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, multivariate unconditional logistic regression, and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Results: A total of 1271 households were surveyed, and the incidence of CHE was 12.5% (159/1271). The multivariate logistic regression showed that households with elderly people over 65 years old (0R = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.42–2.97), children under five years old (0R = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.53–4.48), at least one person with no basic medical insurance (0R = 2.96, 95% CI = 2.08–4.23), chronically ill patients (0R = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.23–2.77), and hospitalized patients (0R = 3.61, 95% CI = 2.31–5.62) contributed to the risk of CHE. Compared to migrant workers in the >30,000 Yuan household per capita annual income group, the 10,001–20,000 Yuan income group (0R = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.44–3.82) and ≤10,000 Yuan income group (0R = 3.72, 95% CI = 2.09–6.62) had a higher risk of CHE occurrence. Compared to migrant workers in the university and above head-of-household education group, those in the primary level or below education group (0R = 5.90, 95% CI = 3.02–11.5) had a higher risk of CHE occurrence. MCA revealed a strong interrelationship between the following risk factors and CHE: household per capita annual income ≤10,000 Yuan, primary school education level or below for the head of the household, and having at least one person in the household with no basic medical insurance. Conclusions: CHE incidence amongst migrant workers in Western China is a serious issue, and policymakers should pay more attention to these migrant workers’ households that are more prone to CHE than others, so as to decrease the incidence of CHE in this group. Full article