Observational survey analysis finds declining unmet home-visiting needs among disabled older adults in China

An observational analysis of five survey waves from 2005 to 2018 found declining unmet needs for community-based home-visiting services across age and birth-cohort groups among disabled older adults in China, according to the study abstract.

Researchers analyzed data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey and used a hierarchical logistic age-period-cohort model to examine temporal patterns in unmet home-visiting service needs. The study population comprised disabled older adults, and its scope was limited to China. The analysis assessed whether socioeconomic indicators predicted differences in those trends.

Residence, occupation and education were significant predictors of temporal trends in unmet community-based home-visiting needs. Income also had an effect, but its influence was smaller than that of the other socioeconomic indicators examined. The authors described the results as evidence that unmet needs followed distinct age and cohort patterns and were partially associated with socioeconomic status.

Because the findings came from an observational study using self-reported data, they may be affected by potential biases and cannot establish that changes in socioeconomic status caused the reported trends. The supplied evidence is an abstract rather than a full account of the analysis, so it does not provide effect sizes, uncertainty intervals, sample characteristics beyond the study’s stated focus, or details about the individual survey waves. The authors concluded that declining unmet needs among disabled older Chinese adults were partially associated with socioeconomic status rather than demonstrating a causal effect.

Subject of Research: Socioeconomic predictors of unmet community-based home-visiting service needs among disabled older adults in China

Article Title: Socioeconomic status and temporal trends in unmet needs for community-based home visiting services among disabled older adults in China

Article References: Pan, C., & Cao, N. (2026). Socioeconomic status and temporal trends in unmet needs for community-based home visiting services among disabled older adults in China. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29965-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29965-8

Keywords: older adults, disabled populations, home visiting, community care, socioeconomic status, age-period-cohort analysis, China, observational research, Socioeconomic, status, temporal, trends