Study On The Impact Of Access To Health Care On The Health And The Utilization Of Health Services Of The Elderly

Population health has always been attached great importance by our government.However the deepening aging population degree and the continuous extension of life expectancy has brought enormous challenges to population health.For this reason,our country is committed to the development and continuous improvement of the medical and health system,so that people can get convenient and effective medical services.The elderly have difficulty in walking and have a weak immune system,so that their demands of medical service are generally higher than other groups.While access to health care are factors that can promote or hinder the utilization of health services which can reflect the supply of medical and health resources in China.It is very meaningful to research the impact of access to health care on health and the utilization of health service of the elderly.In order to achieve this purpose,this paper first reviews the related research at home and abroad,and finds that the impact of access to health care on health and the utilization of health service have not formed a unified result.Then we use the 2013-2014 cross-sectional survey data of the “Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey”(CLHLS),using Logit and Ologit models for empirical analysis.In order to measure the accessibility,the distance of the nearest medical institution,medical insurance and health education are selected as the proxy variables.Empirical analysis results show that:(1)access to health care has a greater impact on the activities of the elderly’s daily living.While the distance of the nearest medical institution has a strong impact on the elderly’s health both in urban and rural areas,the medical insurance and health education just play an important role in urban areas.(2)access to health care has a significant impact on the older people to timely use the health service.Also the impact of the distances of nearest medical institution is very significant in both urban and rural areas.The promotion of health education to timely use of health service is only significant in urban areas,while the impact of medical insurance is no longer significant.Therefore,in order to improve access to health care and improve the health of the elderly,the government should strengthen the allocation of medical resources in rural areas,improve the existing transportation preferential treatment policies for the elderly and standardize the organization and implementation of health education.