ArticleBMC health services research2025
How does digital literacy affect the health status of senior citizens? Micro-level evidence from the CFPS data.
Article in BMC health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Relationship Between Electronic Health Literacy and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Chinese Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Intelligent living environments and older adults' health outcomes: roles of social support and self-efficacy.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Does the concentration of public resources lead to health inequality? - a study on the impact of urban administrative hierarchy on the subjective physical and mental health of older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Active ageing in the digital era: digital literacy, social networks, and mental health among older adults in China.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The "ELDERDES" model: how older adults' adoption of digital environment solutions improves residential experiences, health outcomes, and enables independent living.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Social connectedness and digital literacy in later life: the mediating roles of perceived barriers and social integration.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Impact of Youth Community Health Volunteers on Community Health Screening Program Outcomes for Older Adults: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Acceptable standards for clinic-based digital cognitive assessments: Recommendations from the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- The associational relationships between multidimensional digital literacy and wage income: evidence from urban-rural heterogeneity.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Activating health behaviors: how does digital infrastructure improve the physical health of middle-aged and older adults? Evidence from the 'Broadband China' pilot policy.Global health action · 2025Article
- Digital evolution and emerging inequalities in healthcare: a scoping review through the lens of knowledge management.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Can internet usage reduce health inequality among rural residents? Evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe popularization of the Internet and digital technology has called for higher digital literacy among citizens, especially the elderly. However, most existing studies didn't measure digital literacy at the micro level, and the impact mechanism has rarely been discussed. The purpose of this study is to clarify whether and how digital literacy affects the health status of senior citizens.
methodsThe data used in this study are collected from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from three periods: 2016, 2018, and 2020. The balanced panel data comprised 7836 samples, with 2612 samples per year. Based on the CFPS data, this study constructs a balanced panel and employs a two-way fixed-effects model for the estimation. The instrumental variable (IV) method is employed for tackling the endogenous problems. Next, the mediation effect model is applied to identify the influencing mechanism.
resultsFirst, digital literacy can improve the health status of senior citizens. This result remains valid after introducing lagged explanatory variables and addressing the endogeneity issues. Second, social support acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between digital literacy and the health status of senior citizens. Third, the heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of digital literacy on the health status of senior citizens varies across age groups, urban-rural types, and education levels.
conclusionsThis study examines the impact of digital literacy on the health status of senior citizens at the micro-level and identifies the mediation mechanism. The results enhance our understanding of the positive effects of digitalization on aging society and offer useful insights for the government in formulating more targeted active aging strategies.
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