Population Development Studies Center, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Interdisciplinary platform for public health and disease prevention and control of Renmin, Institute of Health Sciences Research, University of China, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
BMC Geriatr. 2024 Mar 27;24(1):291. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-04880-y.
Social pensions, social assistance systems for older people in rural areas, have been put into place in many nations and have positively impacted health. The long-term health consequences of social pension programs in China are uncertain. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term health consequences of the new rural social pension (NRSP) for the rural older people in China.
Based on the 2011 and 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we compared the scores on eight Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) subscales of the rural older people before and after participation in the NRSP. The propensity score matching and difference-in-difference methods were used in data analysis. We also conducted a heterogeneity analysis for subgroups with different characteristics and pension enrolment times.
The NRSP significantly enhanced scores on physical functioning, role-physical, and self-rated mental health of old rural participants by 1.90 (p < 0.01), 2.05 (p < 0.01), and 2.93 (p < 0.05), respectively. After excluding newly enrolled individuals, the beneficial health effects of the NRSP remained significant. There were no significant changes due to NRSP in the other five scores on the HRQoL subscale of the rural older people. The NRSP had more health benefits for older people in underdeveloped areas without formal schooling.
The NRSP reduced health disparities and had long-term benefits on the physical and mental health of the rural older people. We suggest continuously expanding the NRSP throughout rural China and further improving the social support system to enhance the overall quality of life of the rural older people. Comparable social pension programs aimed at underprivileged groups could also be conducted in other low- or middle-income nations.
许多国家都实施了面向农村老年人的社会养老金和社会救助制度，这些制度对老年人的健康产生了积极影响。中国社会养老金计划对健康的长期影响尚不确定。本研究旨在评估中国新型农村社会养老金（NRSP）对农村老年人的长期健康影响。
基于 2011 年和 2018 年中国健康与退休纵向研究，我们比较了参与 NRSP 前后农村老年人八项健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）子量表的得分。数据分析采用倾向评分匹配和差分法。我们还对具有不同特征和参保时间的亚组进行了异质性分析。
NRSP 显著提高了农村老年参与者的身体机能、躯体角色和自评心理健康得分，分别提高了 1.90（p<0.01）、2.05（p<0.01）和 2.93（p<0.05）。在排除新参保人员后，NRSP 的有益健康效应仍然显著。NRSP 对农村老年人 HRQoL 子量表的其他五个得分没有显著变化。NRSP 对没有正规学校教育的欠发达地区的老年人健康益处更大。
NRSP 缩小了健康差距，对农村老年人的身心健康具有长期益处。我们建议在中国农村地区继续扩大 NRSP，并进一步完善社会支持体系，提高农村老年人的整体生活质量。类似的面向弱势群体的社会养老金计划也可以在其他中低收入国家实施。
