School of Translation Studies, Qufu Normal University, 80 Yantai north road, Rizhao, 276825, People's Republic of China.
School of International Affairs and Public administration, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road,, 266100, Qingdao, People's Republic of China.
BMC Geriatr. 2022 Mar 14;22(1):202. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-02911-0.
The number of empty-nest elderly in China is rapidly increasing. Empty-nest elderly could not receive adequate daily care, economic support and spiritual consolation from their children. Rural empty-nest elderly are facing more serious health challenges than those in urban areas.
This study aimed to understand the experiences of rural empty-nest elderly in seeking medical services in China.
The method of inductive content analysis was used to collect and analyze data. Data were collected by in-depth interviews. A total number of 16 participants were involved in this study. A semi-structured interview guideline, which was discussed in depth and agreed upon by all researchers, was used to encourage participants to talk about their experiences in seeking medical services.
Rural empty-nest elderly is facing a great challenge in seeking medical services in China. There are some barriers for rural nest elderly to get access to healthcare services, such as low-income status, high expenditure of medical treatment and inadequate health insurance coverage. Due to the absence of the companionship of their adult children, empty-nest elderly have to rely on their neighbors and relatives to seek medical services.
Rural empty-nest elderly have great difficulty in seeking medical services in China. More efforts should be made to get medical services more accessible to rural empty-nest elderly.
中国的空巢老人数量正在迅速增加。空巢老人无法从子女那里获得足够的日常照顾、经济支持和精神慰藉。农村空巢老人面临的健康挑战比城市地区更为严重。
本研究旨在了解中国农村空巢老人在就医过程中的体验。
采用归纳内容分析法收集和分析数据。通过深入访谈收集数据。本研究共纳入 16 名参与者。使用半结构化访谈指南，该指南经过所有研究人员的深入讨论并达成一致，以鼓励参与者谈论他们在就医过程中的体验。
中国农村空巢老人在就医方面面临巨大挑战。农村空巢老人获得医疗服务存在一些障碍，如低收入状况、医疗费用高和医疗保险覆盖不足。由于成年子女不在身边，空巢老人不得不依靠邻居和亲戚寻求医疗服务。
中国农村空巢老人在就医方面存在很大困难。应做出更多努力，使农村空巢老人更容易获得医疗服务。
