Impact of free health check-ups on elderly healthcare utilization and health: a pooled cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health check-ups have emerged as a promising tool for disease prevention and health improvement. China introduced a community-based program providing annual health check-ups and consultation services at no cost for seniors aged 65 and above. However, the program's impact has not yet been evaluated. This study purposed to assess the impact of the free health check-up program for the elderly.

Methods

We analysed a pooled cross-sectional data from the National Health Service Survey (Shandong) in 2013 and 2018, comprising 38,948 representative samples. The outpatient care utilization, inpatient care utilization, and the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ5D) score were used to assess the program's effects on reducing medical use and improving health. A combined Difference-in-Diff

SUBMITTER: Dong S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12648863 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature