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)

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) 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. A total of 9259 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. The fixed-effects model 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 0.343 in 2011, 0.344 in 2013, 0.343 in 2015, and 0.352 in 2018, and the incidence of multidimensional health poverty was 67.24% in 2011, 66.16% in 2013, 66.09% in 2015, and 66.80% in 2018 at the threshold of 1/3. Intergenerational financial support was associated with multidimensional health poverty among older adults (Coef: -0.003, P < 0.001). Furthermore, intergenerational financial support had a negative impact on physical health poverty (Coef. = -0.002, P < 0.001), mental health poverty (Coef. = -0.002, P < 0.001), and social health poverty (Coef. = -0.002, P < 0.001), 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.