Digital Inclusion, Cultural Capital, and Health Status of Urban and Rural Residents: An Empirical Study Based on 2017 CGSS Database

Abstract

China is committed to using digital technology to drive urban–rural integration in health care. This study aims to explore the effect of digital inclusion on health status with the mediating role of cultural capital and the digital health disparities between urban and rural residents in China. Using data from the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), the present study adopted an ordinary least squares (OLS) robust standard error regression model to investigate the impact of digital inclusion on health status. In addition, causal step regression (CSR) and bootstrapping methods were combined to test the mediating effect of cultural capital. The results showed that, first, digital inclusion was related to positive and significant effects on resident health status. Second, cultural capital played a mediating role in the relationship between digital inclusion and health status. Third, urban residents gained more health benefits from digital inclusion than rural residents. Additionally, common method variance (CMV) tests, endogenous tests, and a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis showed that the above conclusions remained robust. The government should therefore focus not only on promoting the population’s health by utilizing digital inclusion but also on accelerating digital health equity between urban and rural areas by developing such strategies as a digital infrastructure expansion schedule and digital literacy education and training programs.

Disparities in Status, Patterns, and Preferences of Internet Medical Services Utilization for Patients During the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Period in China: Evidence from Provincial Field and National Online Surveys

“…The prevalence of IMSU (39.43% with the provincial eld survey data) reported in our results was similar to the latest data reported in Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) in the U.S. (39.3%), and were consistent with prior literature on digital health inequities among patients with inferior demographic (e.g., gerontal patients) and socio-economic factors (e.g., educated at basic education level), as well as increased IMSU accessed among patients with poorer health status (e.g., suffering multi chronic diseases) , but not for gender in this study [13,20,25,[27][28][29][30]. We also found that, the respondents from the national online survey with superior demographic and socio-economic factors, but poorer health status than those from the provincial eld survey.…”

“…Theoretically, IMS offers the promise of improving medical services access by removing the cost barriers associated with management, information, tra c, and so on [24]. In practice, however, internet-based medical and other digital services actually risk widening gaps in healthcare for individuals with inequitable sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., living urban vs. rural) rather than narrowing them [25,26].…”

Association of Public Sports Space Perception with Health-Related Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Adults—Evidence from a Survey in Shandong, China

“…Digital access considered whether there was internet access at home and whether there were mobile phones, tablets, and computers; digital skills considered six aspects: opening websites, downloading and installing apps, searching for information, identifying information authenticity, expressing ideas, and online payment; digital output considered six aspects: social activities, self-presentation, online action, leisure and entertainment, information acquisition and business transactions, and finally calculated the mean value as the score. The validity of this way of surveying middle-aged and older adults’ digital inclusion level in China has been confirmed, and it has good reliability and validity [ 28 , 29 ].…”

Analysis of health risk factors for older adults living alone in China and establishment and evaluation of a nomogram prediction model

“…Yet these factors may be key determinants impacting the welfare of this vulnerable group. Research has indicated that digital inclusion and cultural capital contribute to improving residents’ health conditions ( 16 ). Digital health literacy is beneficial for enabling older adults to access medical services, participate in social activities, and enhance their quality of life ( 17 ).…”