IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v362y2024ics0277953624008992.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Easing caregiver strain: The power of health check-ups

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Lin
  • Sang, Bin
  • Zhang, Linlin
  • Yin, Wenqiang
  • Yuan, Xiaoping
  • Ma, Chunxiao

Abstract

Against the backdrop of global aging and escalating pressures on family caregiving, this study delves into the impact of health check-ups for the elderly on alleviating the objective burden of family caregiving by analyzing China's Free Health Check-up Program (FHCP). Using an unbalanced panel dataset spanning 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020, comprising approximately 35,000 observations of the elderly population aged 65 and above, the research employs the Difference-in-Differences method. The research reveals a significant 9.18% reduction in family caregiving time following the implementation of FHCP, primarily attributed to the enhancement of the elderly's self-care abilities and health awareness. This study elucidates, for the first time, the efficacy and mechanisms of health check-ups in alleviating caregiving objective burdens, providing evidence for the formulation of pertinent policies. It underscores the significance of routine health check-ups as a public health intervention in supporting family caregivers and addressing the challenges of aging.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Lin & Sang, Bin & Zhang, Linlin & Yin, Wenqiang & Yuan, Xiaoping & Ma, Chunxiao, 2024. "Easing caregiver strain: The power of health check-ups," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:362:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624008992
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117445
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624008992
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117445?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Juana Perpiñá-Galvañ & Núria Orts-Beneito & Manuel Fernández-Alcántara & Sofía García-Sanjuán & María Paz García-Caro & María José Cabañero-Martínez, 2019. "Level of Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life in Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Rafael del-Pino-Casado & Emilia Priego-Cubero & Catalina López-Martínez & Vasiliki Orgeta, 2021. "Subjective caregiver burden and anxiety in informal caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Bauer, Jan Michael & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2015. "Impacts of Informal Caregiving on Caregiver Employment, Health, and Family," IZA Discussion Papers 8851, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Martin Pinquart & Silvia Sörensen, 2003. "Associations of Stressors and Uplifts of Caregiving With Caregiver Burden and Depressive Mood: A Meta-Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(2), pages 112-128.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marie Blaise & Laetitia Dillenseger, 2023. "Informal Caregivers and Life Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1883-1930, August.
    2. Sharon Anderson & Jasneet Parmar & Tanya L’Heureux & Bonnie Dobbs & Lesley Charles & Peter George J. Tian, 2022. "Family Caregiving during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: A Mediation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Stöckel, Jannis & Bom, Judith, 2022. "Revisiting longer-term health effects of informal caregiving: Evidence from the UK," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    4. Patrick Janson & Kristina Willeke & Lisa Zaibert & Andrea Budnick & Anne Berghöfer & Sarah Kittel-Schneider & Peter U. Heuschmann & Andreas Zapf & Manfred Wildner & Carolin Stupp & Thomas Keil, 2022. "Mortality, Morbidity and Health-Related Outcomes in Informal Caregivers Compared to Non-Caregivers: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Inmaculada Valero-Cantero & Cristina Casals & Milagrosa Espinar-Toledo & Francisco Javier Barón-López & Francisco Javier Martínez-Valero & Nuria García-Agua Soler & María Ángeles Vázquez-Sánchez, 2023. "Effect of Self-Chosen Music in Alleviating the Burden on Family Caregivers of Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Randomised Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-10, March.
    6. Guogui Huang & Fei Guo & Gong Chen, 2022. "The Role and Wellbeing of Female Family Caregivers in the Provision of Aged Care in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 707-731, January.
    7. Pavel Bachmann & Jan Hruska, 2022. "Alzheimer Caregiving Problems According to ADLs: Evidence from Facebook Support Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-15, May.
    8. Quitterie Roquebert & Marianne Tenand, 2024. "Informal care at old age at home and in nursing homes: determinants and economic value," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 25(3), pages 497-511, April.
    9. Juan Francisco Velarde-García & Carmen Ortego-Maté & Carmen Sarabia-Cobo & Aroa Delgado Uria & Rosario Fernández-Peña, 2024. "Impact of the Pandemic on Dementia Care and Caregivers: A Qualitative Study," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 33(4), pages 240-252, May.
    10. Heger, Dörte & Korfhage, Thorben, 2017. "Does the negative effect of caregiving on work persist over time?," Ruhr Economic Papers 703, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    11. M Khurram Malik & KS Jacob, 2015. "Psychological morbidity among co-residents of older people in rural South India: Prevalence and risk factors," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 61(2), pages 183-187, March.
    12. Korfhage, Thorben & Fischer-Weckemann, Björn, 2024. "Long-run consequences of informal elderly care and implications of public long-term care insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    13. Bremer, Patrick & Cabrera, Esther & Leino-Kilpi, Helena & Lethin, Connie & Saks, Kai & Sutcliffe, Caroline & Soto, Maria & Zwakhalen, Sandra M.G. & Wübker, Ansgar, 2015. "Informal dementia care: Consequences for caregivers’ health and health care use in 8 European countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(11), pages 1459-1471.
    14. Takashi Oshio & Emiko Usui, 2017. "Informal parental care and female labour supply in Japan," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(9), pages 635-638, May.
    15. Yemisi Okikiade Oyegbile & Petra Brysiewicz, 2017. "Family caregiver's experiences of providing care to patients with End‐Stage Renal Disease in South‐West Nigeria," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(17-18), pages 2624-2632, September.
    16. Cheng-Chang Liu & Chang-Franw Lee & Tung Chang & Jing-Jing Liao, 2020. "Exploring the Relationship between the Caregiver’s Stress Load and Dementia Patient Behavior: A Case Study of Dementia Specialist Outpatient Data from the Southern Medical Center of Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-18, July.
    17. Kolodziej, Ingo & Coe, Norma B. & Van Houtven, Courtney Harold, 2023. "Intensive informal care and impairments in work productivity and activity," Ruhr Economic Papers 1010, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Rellstab, Sara & Bakx, Pieter & García-Gómez, Pilar & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2020. "The kids are alright - labour market effects of unexpected parental hospitalisations in the Netherlands," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    19. Yukie Nakajima & Steven M. Schmidt & Agneta Malmgren Fänge & Mari Ono & Toshiharu Ikaga, 2019. "Relationship between Perceived Indoor Temperature and Self-Reported Risk for Frailty among Community-Dwelling Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-12, February.
    20. Kamila Hynek & Aslaug Gotehus & Fredrik Methi & Ragnhild Bang Nes & Vegard Skirbekk & Thomas Hansen, 2023. "Caregiving + Migrant Background = Double Jeopardy? Associations between Caregiving and Physical and Psychological Health According to Migrant Backgrounds in Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-13, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:362:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624008992. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.