This study aimed to explore the impact of social participation (SP) on physical functioning and depression among empty-nest elderly taking part in the fourth wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS, 2018). The instrumental variable (IV) method and propensity score matching (PSM) method were used to analyse the impact of SP. The two-stage regression results of the IV method showed that SP has a significant negative impact on the physical functioning scores of empty-nest elderly (β = −3.539, p < 0.001) and non-empty-nest elderly (β = −4.703, p < 0.001), and SP has a significant negative impact on the depression scores of empty-nest elderly (β = −2.404, p < 0.001) and non-empty-nest elderly (β = −1.957, p < 0.001). The results of the PSM method were basically consistent with the IV method. Compared with non-empty-nest elderly, SP had more positive effects on the depression of empty-nest elderly (Wald χ² = 6.62, p = 0.010). Providing a friendly and supportive environment for the SP of empty-nest elderly was an important measure to promote healthy ageing. Targeted SP may be one of the greatest opportunities to improve the mental health of empty-nest elderly.

Background: A healthcare system refers to a typical network production system. Network data envelopment analysis (DEA) show an advantage than traditional DEA in measure the efficiency of healthcare systems. This paper utilized network data envelopment analysis to evaluate the overall and two substage efficiencies of China’s healthcare system in each of its province after the implementation of the healthcare reform. Tobit regression was performed to analyze the factors that affect the overall efficiency of healthcare systems in the provinces of China. Methods: Network DEA were obtained on MaxDEA 7.0 software, and the results of Tobit regression analysis were obtained on StataSE 15 software. The data for this study were acquired from the China health statistics yearbook (2009–2018) and official websites of databases of Chinese national bureau. Results: Tobit regression reveals that regions and government health expenditure effect the efficiency of the healthcare system in a positive way: the number of high education enrollment per 100,000 inhabitants, the number of public hospital, and social health expenditure effect the efficiency of healthcare system were negative. Conclusion: Some provincial overall efficiency has fluctuating increased, while other provincial has fluctuating decreased, and the average overall efficiency scores were fluctuations increase.

BACKGROUND Many studies have shown that better-educated adults are often associated with higher rates of internet use and digital skills who could improves the health condition by internet use.The majority of current older adults aged 60 in China lacked educational opportunities in early life who more likely excluded from the information society. Internet use has further penetrated into the older adults, together with the high prevalence of depression, it is important to have a better understanding whether education is found to play mediating role between Internet use and depression. OBJECTIVE To investigate Internet use and the potential associations with depression among the Chinese older adults , with a particular focus on the mediating role of education METHODS The data of this study were sourced from the 2021 wave of Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), involving 3206 older adults aged 60 and above. A logistical regression model was used to explore the impact of internet use on depressive symptoms. Moreover, the add-on PROCESS macro for SPSS was employed to measure the mediating effect of education attainment on the relationship between internet use and self-report depressive feelings, controlling for covariant. RESULTS The results showed that internet use was significantly associated with reduced depression feelings among older adults in China. The mediating effect model showed that the total effect of the internet use on depression feelings was 0.108 and the direct effect was 0.078, and the education attainment played a mediating effect between the internet use and depression partly. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that internet use has a positive effect on depressive among the older adults in China. Furthermore, this study also provides new evidence indicating that education partly mediates the relationship between internet use and depressive. Reduce digital divide could be a promising way for China to promote healthy aging in the future.