Does Hukou origin affect establishment of health records in migrant inflow communities? A nation-wide empirical study in China

BACKGROUND: With the implementation of Chinese economic reform and rapid urbanization, policies and values surrounding migration have changed and given rise to unprecedented population mobility. This study is designed to examine the effect of Hukou origin on establishment of health records among internal migrants in China. METHODS: The data used for this study are from the 2015 National Internal Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey, covering 112,782 migrants nationwide. For continuous variables, the p value is calculated using Student t test; for categorical variables, the p value is calculated using chi-square test. Binary logistic regression with an enter method is employed to assess the association of establishment of health records with origin residence. RESULTS: About 35.1% of the migrant population has established health records in their inflow communities, with 37.4% established among those of urban origin and 34.8% established among those of rural origin. The establishment of health records is significantly higher among migrants of urban origin than among migrants of rural origin (OR = 1.057; 1.017–1.098). Our results also show that among populations of both rural and urban origin, inter-province migrants, along with migrants who are employers, have no plans for long-term residence, have no insurance, and have more family income less likely to establish health records. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that residence is associated with establishment of health records among the migrant population in China. Targeted policies should be made to improve the establishment of health records among migrants of both rural and urban origins. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3519-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.