ArticleGlobal health action2025
Activating health behaviors: how does digital infrastructure improve the physical health of middle-aged and older adults? Evidence from the 'Broadband China' pilot policy.
Article in Global health action, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Digital Divide or Compensatory Dividend? The Longitudinal Impact of Smart Health Monitoring on Intrinsic Capacity Trajectories.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The impact of smart city pilot policies on household consumption in households with older adults: mechanisms, heterogeneity, and inequality.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Measuring and decomposing inequalities in intrinsic capacity among older adults in china: from an urban-rural divide perspective.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe rapid development of digital infrastructure has the potential to affect public health, particularly among middle-aged and older adults. However, the causal relationship between digital infrastructure and physical health remains underexplored, especially in non-Western contexts.
objectivesThis study investigates the causal effect of digital infrastructure development on the physical health of middle-aged and older adults in China, using panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2020) and a DID approach based on the Broadband China pilot policy.
methodsWe construct a quasi-natural experiment using the Broadband China policy to examine its impact on physical health. The DID model analyzes health outcomes before and after the policy, focusing on physical health and health-related expenditures. Subgroup analyses are conducted by age and education.
resultsThe findings show that (1) Digital infrastructure is associated with modest improvements in physical health, reflected in a small reduction in activity limitations; (2) Health behaviors - such as slightly increased physical exercise and marginally higher health-related spending - partially mediate these effects; (3) The relative benefits are more pronounced among older adults and those with lower education; (4) Digital infrastructure may help partially reduce health inequalities, particularly among individuals with poorer baseline health.
conclusionDigital infrastructure is associated with modest improvements in physical health among middle-aged and older adults, partly through promoting healthier behaviors. It may contribute to reducing health disparities and offer policy implications for enhancing health equity, particularly among vulnerable populations.
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