A study on the current state and equity level of the health promotion service demands among older adults in China

BACKGROUND: Meeting the demands of older adults for health promotion services (DOAHPS) is essential for maintaining their health and enhancing their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to construct a model for evaluating DOAHPS to quantitatively evaluate the current state and equity level of DOAHPS in China, as well as to explore the main factors affecting DOAHPS’ current state and equity level. METHODS: This study analyzed the DOAHPS data from the "Survey on Chinese Residents' Health Service Demands in the New Era", which included 1542 older adults aged 65 and older. Relationships between evaluation indicators of DOAHPS were explored using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The Weighted TOPSIS method and Logistic regression (LR) were used to analyze the current state and factors impacting DOAHPS. The equity level of DOAHPS’ allocation among different older adult groups and its influencing factors were determined using the Rank Sum Ratio (RSR) method and T Theil index. RESULTS: The evaluation score for DOAHPS was 42.57 ± 1.51. Health status, health literacy and behavior were positively correlated with DOAHPS (r = 0.40, 0.38; P < 0.05). The LR results revealed that the most significant determinants of DOAHPS were sex, residence, education level and pre-retirement occupation (all P < 0.05). The number of older adults with very poor, poor, general, high and very high level health promotion service demands accounted for 2.27%, 28.60%, 53.05%, 15.43% and 0.65%, respectively. The total T Theil index of DOAHPS was 2.7433*10(–4), and the intra-group difference contribution rate exceeded 72%. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the maximum level, the total DOAHPS level was found to be moderate, although the demands of urban seniors with higher levels of education may be substantially greater. The observed inequities in the allocation of DOAHPS were primarily related to differences in education level and pre-retirement occupation within group. To better address health promotion services for older adults, policymakers could target older males with low education who reside in rural regions.