Socioeconomic status and temporal trends in unmet needs for community-based home visiting services among disabled older adults in China

Despite ongoing policy initiatives to enhance community-based home-visiting services (CHVS), unmet care needs remain prevalent among disabled older adults in China. This study aims to evaluate age and cohort trends in unmet needs for CHVS among disabled older Chinese adults and to explore whether socioeconomic status (SES) can predict these trends. Data from five waves (2005 to 2018) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were analyzed. A hierarchical logistic age-period-cohort model was employed to examine trends in unmet needs across different age and cohort groups. The findings revealed a declining trend in unmet needs related to both age and cohort. Additionally, factors such as residence, occupation, and education significantly predicted the temporal trends in unmet CHVS needs. While income had a lower effect than other SES indicators in modifying the temporal trends in unmet CHVS needs. Unmet CHVS needs exhibited distinct temporal trends, which were partially associated with SES among disabled older adults. As an observational study using self-reported data, these findings are subject to potential biases and do not establish causality.