Impact of public health education on the health status of the older migrant population

Abstract

BackgroundDue to an increasing aging population, China has experienced a rapid expansion in its internal older migrant population who face greater health risks and who have a relatively high demand for health education. Public health education is an important means of preventing diseases and promoting health. However, many studies have focused on the utilization, with few studies examining the impact of public health education on the health of the older migrant population in China.ObjectivesThis study analyzed the impact of public health education on the health of the older migrant population in China.MethodsBased on data obtained from the National Migrant Population Health and Family Planning Dynamic Monitor Survey (2018), logistic models and propensity score matching were used to analyze the impact of public health education on the health of the older migrant population.ResultsThe self-assessed health of China's older migrant population was good, and the acceptance rate of public health education was 40.81%. The public health status of the older migrant population receiving public health education significantly improved (p < 0.05). After correcting for endogeneity among the variables, public health education increased the probability of improving the older migrant population's self-assessed health by 5.4–6.1% (p < 0.01). Heterogeneity analysis found that public health education had a greater impact on the health of older men with an education level of middle school and below, and especially on the older migrant population in the eastern region of China.ConclusionsPublic health education positively affected the health status of the older migrant population. The characteristics and preferences of the older migrant population involving different genders, regions, and educational levels need to be considered, public health education needs to be standardized, and appropriate education methods need to be adopted that suit the older migrant population. Reference suggestions are provided for improving the health level of the older migrant population.

Research on the health status and influencing factors of the older adult floating population in Shanghai

“…Incorporating existing research, theories of social determinants of health (SDOH) and data availability, this study selects individual factors, socio-economic factors, health care factors, and migration factors as explanatory variables (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)35). Shown in Table 1, individual factors include age, gender, education level, and marital status (with or without a spouse); socio-economic factors include household registration type, housing expenditure (divided into high, medium, and low groups, with the low-expenditure group as the reference group), and family monthly income (divided into three types: low income group of 694$ and below, medium income group of 695-2083$, and high income group of 2084$ and above, with the low income group as the reference group).…”

“…A representative view is that health communication significantly promotes the improvement of the health status of migrant older adults through mechanisms such as medical service accessibility, medical service utilization, and health literacy (19). Public health education can also improve the self-assessed health level of migrant older adults, and its impact on the health of rural migrant older adults in the eastern region with high age and high cultural level is greater (20)(21)(22). Participating in health check-ups and seeking medical attention for minor illnesses has a positive effect on the health status of migrant older adults.…”

A study on the impact and mechanism of action of public health education on the health of the migrant population: evidence from the 2018 China migrants dynamic survey

“…Based on the existing research results ( 20 , 29 , 35 , 36 ) and data availability, this study includes mediator variables such as health behavior and social support. Health behavior includes public health behavior and healthcare-seeking behavior.…”

“…They concluded that compared with those who did not receive public health education, receiving public health education resulted in a 4.1% improvement in self-health, and a reduction in the incidence of daily symptoms and diseases by 5.3 and 6.1% respectively, compared to those who did not receive public health education ( 17 ). Yan et al’s findings also showed that receiving public health education increased the probability of self-assessed health improvement by 5.4–6.1% among the older adult mobile population ( 20 ). Thirdly, the path of action of public health education in influencing the health of the mobile population.…”

“…Firstly, the current situation of the migrant population’s acceptance of health education and the factors that influence it. Regarding the current status of health education, the results of Yan et al showed that the proportion of older migrant populations receiving public health education was low ( 20 ). Other studies have also indicated that health education needs to be more widely promoted and the coverage of health education should be expanded ( 21 ).…”