The association between intergenerational financial support and multidimensional health poverty among Chinese older adults: analysis of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Abstract

Background Previous studies have indicated that intergenerational financial support was associated with health poverty among older adults, but few studies have accounted for multidimensional characteristics of health. This study aims to investigate the incidence of multidimensional health poverty among older adults, and explore the effect of intergenerational financial support on the multidimensional health poverty among older adults in China. Methods This study was based on the data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2018. A total of 3,937 adults aged 60 years and older were included in this study. Multidimensional health poverty was measured through three dimensions: physical health poverty, mental health poverty, and social health poverty, and the Alkire-Foster (AF) method was used to evaluate the incidence of multidimensional health poverty among older adults. Logistic regression models and OLS regression models were employed to explore the association between intergenerational financial support and multidimensional health poverty among older adults. Results The index of multidimensional health poverty among older adults was 0.365, and the incidence of multidimensional health poverty was 63.3% at the threshold of 1/3. Intergenerational financial support was associated with multidimensional health poverty among older adults (OR = 0.880, P < 0.001). Furthermore, intergenerational financial support had a negative impact on physical health poverty (Coef. = -0.002, P < 0.05), mental health poverty (Coef. = -0.008, P < 0.01), and social health poverty (Coef. = -0.009, P < 0.01), respectively. Conclusions This study demonstrates that the incidence of multidimensional health poverty was higher among older adults, and intergenerational financial support was negatively associated with multidimensional health poverty. Policymakers should explore home-based interventions to reduce the incidence of multidimensional health poverty among older adults.