Understanding How Community Elder Care and Social Security Shape Health Frailty : A Chinese Longitudinal Perspective.
Key Points
The research aims to understand how community-based elderly care and social security affect health frailty over time.
Analyzed data from five waves (2005-2018) of the China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.
Utilized latent growth and Croon-corrected structural equation modeling.
Investigated pathways through chain mediation across social, psychological, and physiological domains.
Community care services alone did not significantly impact frailty levels.
Integration of community services with social security led to reduced baseline frailty and slowed its progression.
Cross-domain mediation pathways highlight the importance of institutional support in enhancing health.
Abstract
Using five waves (2005-2018) of the China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study examines how community home-based elderly care services and social-security coverage jointly shape trajectories of multidimensional frailty. Latent growth and Croon-corrected structural equation models show that community services alone have no significant effect, whereas their integration with social security reduces both baseline frailty and its progression. Chain mediation reveals cross-domain pathways, particularly the social-psychological-physiological sequence. These findings highlight the role of community services as mechanisms translating institutional support into sustained health gains in later life.