Children and Rural-Urban Inequality of Health Among Elderly in China: "Convergence Phenomenon" of the Number of Children and "Action Mechanism" of the Quality of Children

Abstract Background: There is a widespread health inequality between urban and rural elderly people in China. China's unique social culture, policy environment and family relations determine the importance of children to the health of the elderly. However, the existing research on the health inequality of urban and rural elderly in China was generally reflected in the discussion of the urban-rural dual structure and the socioeconomic status of the elderly, but ignoring the important role of children in the health of the elderly in China and that in the health inequality of urban and rural elderly in China.Methods: The data we used come from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). In total, 9745 valid samples were obtained. The statistical method used in thisstudy was the structural equation modeling method(SEM).Results: the degree of health inequality between urban and rural elderly decreases with the increase of the number of children. Children's quality, especially their economic status, played an important role in the health of the elderly, and was even significantly greater than the impact of their own socio-economic status. Conclusion: With the increase of the number of children, the health gap between urban and rural elderly in China showed a “convergence phenomenon”, and the urban-rural health inequality of the elderly and the urban-rural gap of children's economic conditions changed in the same direction. The economic conditions of children were not only an important factor affecting the health of the elderly, but also one of the important reasons for the convergence of the urban-rural health gap of the elderly with the increase of the number of children.