In recent years, China has made great efforts to resolve the health inequality caused by household registration restrictions, and the unequal allotment of health services faced by migrant workers has been effectively alleviated. However, inequality in health services may exist not only between migrant workers and local citizens but also among migrant workers. Thus, the unbalanced utilization of health services among migrant workers deserves attention. Using data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), we examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and healthcare-seeking behavior through multivariate regression analysis. Then, from the perspective of SES, this study divided migrant workers into different groups to explore the characteristics of healthcare-seeking behavior in different groups. The results showed that SES had a significant relationship with healthcare-seeking behavior. Those with high SES were more likely to use high-quality health services. By subdividing the category of migrant workers, we found that the utilization of health services among migrant workers was unbalanced. Education and income had significant gradients in multiple measures of healthcare-seeking behavior, while occupation had no significant difference in the behavior. Migrant workers with higher income and education were more likely to use high-quality health services. Especially for migrant workers who had high incomes (above 15,000 CNY) or whose educational backgrounds were graduate level or above, their utilization of health resources was significantly higher than that of other groups. When designing particular policies to improve the healthcare-seeking behavior of different SES migrant workers, we should pay attention to the low-education groups and low-income groups. Policymakers can reduce the current health inequality of migrant workers by strengthening health education and increasing medical subsidies to achieve health equality among migrant workers and between migrant workers and local citizens.

Health education is considered to be an effective way to improve the healthcare-seeking behavior of migrant workers. This study examined the impact of health education on healthcare-seeking behavior of migrant workers in China and explored the differences in different health education methods. This paper used the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) to analyze the relationship between health education and healthcare-seeking behavior. Our results indicated that health education could significantly improve the healthcare-seeking behavior of migrant workers, but there was still ample space for improvement. From the perspective of different health education methods, lectures, public consultation, and online education were positively correlated to healthcare-seeking behavior, while publicity materials and bulletin boards were not. Although the effects of publicity materials and bulletins were limited, these two health education methods were still the most widely used. Our results emphasized the necessity of increasing investment in lectures, public consultation, online education, and other similar health education methods. This change in health education methods can play an effective role in the spread of health education to improve the healthcare-seeking behavior of migrant workers.

Energy poverty (EPOV) is considered to have a significant impact on health and has become an essential issue on the policy agenda in most countries, especially those with rapid aging. Cognitive and mental health (CMH) for aging well is just as important a component as physical health, but the literature on the effect of EPOV on CMH is still rare. Using 2014–2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study explores EPOV and its impacts on CMH among middle-aged and older adults. Six measures based on energy affordability are constructed to capture the state of EPOV. The results show that the proportion of middle-aged and older adults living in EPOV in China ranges from 24.3% to 27.8%, according to different measures. Applying a two-way FE model, the estimates show that overall, the impact of EPOV on CMH is significantly negative. Furthermore, physical health is an important channel through which EPOV affects CMH. Although EPOV has a significant adverse effect on the CMH of both middle-aged and older adults, it harms the latter more.

Due to the limitations in the verifiability of individual identity, migrant workers have encountered some obstacles in access to public health care services. Residence permits issued by the Chinese government are a solution to address the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers. In principle, migrant workers with residence permits have similar rights as urban locals. However, the validity of residence permits is still controversial. This study aimed to examine the impact of residence permits on public health care services. Data were taken from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS). Our results showed that the utilization of health care services of migrant workers with residence permits was significantly better than others. However, although statistically significant, the substantive significance is modest. In addition, megacities had significant negative moderating effects between residence permits and health care services utilization. Our research results emphasized that reforms of the household registration system, taking the residence permit system as a breakthrough, cannot wholly address the health care access inequality in China. For developing countries with uneven regional development, the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers is a structural issue.

Energy poverty (EPOV) is a critical issue for many countries, and is regarded as having an impact on subjective well-being (SWB). Using data from 2014–2020 China Family Panel Studies, this study examines the impact of EPOV on SWB from two dimensions: present-based and future-based. Our results indicate that the incidence of EPOV at the family level in China ranges from 20.2% to 23.6% across six different measures. The empirical findings show that EPOV has a significantly negative effect on SWB in both dimensions. Physical health, mental health, and cognitive health serve as key channels through which EPOV affects SWB. Furthermore, the impacts of EPOV on SWB vary across different demographic groups. In the present-based dimension, EPOV has a greater impact on middle-aged and older adults; whereas in the future-based dimension, the impact on low-capital residents, middle-aged and older adults is more significant. These findings highlight the necessity of addressing the adverse impact of EPOV on SWB in different time dimensions. Developing comprehensive and targeted strategies to mitigate EPOV for diverse demographic groups is essential.