Technology for sustainable living: The impact of digital inclusion on the health of China's elderly living alone

Abstract

Enhancing elderly health has become an important measure for coping with population ageing and building a healthy China. Among them, older adults living alone seem to suffer from greater loneliness and psychological stress. We analyzed data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2015, 2018, and 2020, and carried out an empirical investigation into the impact of digital inclusion on the health of elderly individuals living alone, using two-way fixed effects models and two-stage least squares. The findings suggest that digital inclusion could positively impact the health of older people living alone. Specifically, for a one-standard-deviation increase in digital inclusion, the depression scale score decreases by 0.48 (α = −0.21, p < 0.01); the cognitive function score increases by 0.27(α = 0.12, p < 0.01); the instrumental activities of daily living score would decrease by 0.11 (α = −0.05, p < 0.01). An increase of 1 in the digital inclusion score decreases the self-rated health score by 0.02 (α = −0.02, p < 0.01). It can significantly enhance the health status of elderly people who live alone through mechanisms of improving life satisfaction, increasing the utilization of preventive health care services, and promoting social participation. Subsequent analyses identified varying effects of digital inclusion on older adults living alone, influenced by their income and education levels. In particular, digital inclusion substantially enhanced instrument activities of daily living among the aged who lived alone and with higher income and educational backgrounds. However it had no significant effect on older people living alone with lower incomes and educational backgrounds. The insights from this study could be invaluable for policymakers in promoting broader adoption of digital technologies among older adults living alone.