Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33148248›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2020

How and to what extent can pensions facilitate increased use of health services by older people: evidence from social pension expansion in rural China.

Shanquan Chen, Xi Chen, Stephen Law, Henry Lucas, Shenlan Tang, Qian Long, Lei Xue, Zheng Wang

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.

Shanquan ChenThe School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Xi ChenDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
Stephen LawFaculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Henry LucasInstitute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Shenlan TangDepartment of Population Health Science, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Qian LongGlobal Health Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China.
Lei XueInstitute for Hospital Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Zheng WangKey Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, China. wangzh6@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn.
Beijing Hua Xin Hospital · CNDuke Kunshan University · CNDuke University · USGuiyang Medical University · CNInstitute of Development Studies · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Sydney · AU

Funding

Yale Study Support Suite (YES3): Dashboard and Web Portal Software Supporting Research Workflow through integrated, customizable REDCap External ModulesP30AG021342 · NIA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Albert C Shaw · 2002 to 2026
$37.9M
Social Pension, Health, and Healthy AgingK01AG053408 · NIA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI CHEN, XI · 2018 to 2021
$514k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG053408NIA NIH HHS P30 AG021342
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe proportion of people aged 60 years or over is growing faster than other age groups. Traditionally, retirement has been considered as both a loss to the labour market and an additional economic burden on the nation. More recently, it is widely accepted that retired people can still contribute to society in many ways, though the extent of their contributions will depend heavily on their state of health. In this context, a significant practical issue is how to encourage older people to use the health services they need. This study aims to evaluate the effects of pensions on older adults' health service utilization, and estimate the level of pension required to influence such utilization.

methodsUsing data from a nationally representative sample survey, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we adopted a fuzzy regression discontinuity design and undertook segmented regression analysis.

resultsIt was found that a pension did encourage low-income people to use both outpatient (OR = 1.219, 95% 1.018-1.460) and inpatient services (OR = 1.269, 95% 1.020-1.579); but also encouraged both low- and high-income people to choose self-treatment, specifically over-the-counter (OR = 1.208, 95% 1.037-1.407; OR = 1.206, 95% 1.024-1.419; respectively) and traditional Chinese medicines (OR = 1.452, 95% 1.094-1.932; OR = 1.456, 95% 1.079-1.955; respectively). However, receiving a pension had no effect on the frequency of outpatient and inpatient service use. Breakpoints for a pension to promote health service utilization were mainly located in the range 55-95 CNY (7.1-12.3 EUR or 8.0-13.8 USD).

conclusionsA pension was found to have mixed effects on health service utilization for different income groups. Our study enriches existing evidence on the impact of pensions on healthcare-seeking behaviour and can be helpful in policy design and the formulation of improved models relating to pensions and healthcare utilisation.

Indexed as

PensionsRetirementAgedAged, 80 and overChinaHealth ServicesHumansLongitudinal StudiesMiddle AgedHealth service utilizationPensionRegression discontinuity designSegmented regression

Identifiers

PMID33148248
PMCPMC7640495
OpenAlexW3096875264

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.