Integrated medical and elderly care utilisation and outcomes in China: insights from a mixed-methods configurational analysis

Introduction While establishing integrated medical and older-adult care systems has been widely adopted as a crucial strategy to address population ageing, little is known about either the configurations that facilitate integrated care service utilisation or the actual policy outcomes in enhancing healthy ageing levels.Theory Conceptualising the implementation of China’s integrated medical and elderly care policy as a strategic action field.Method This study employs a mixed-methods approach that combines fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis with regression analysis to assess integrated care utilisation and associated outcomes.Results Our analysis identifies three configurations that promote IMEC utilisation, which are primarily driven by either citizen or IMEC provider dominance. Subsequent regression results indicate positive associations of these configurations with local healthy ageing levels.Discussion These findings offer local governments evidence-based policy recommendations and provide strategic insights for refining future policy implementation.