Urban–Rural Disparities in the Association Between Home- and Community-Based Service Utilization and Levels of Disability Among Chinese Older Adults With Disabilities

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are optimal ways to deal with disability problems among older adults. This study aims to analyze urban–rural disparities in the relationship between HCBS utilization and levels of disability among Chinese older adults with disabilities, so as to meet the long-term care needs of them. In applying the Andersen Behavioral Model, bivariate analysis and multivariate regression models were employed using data from 843 older adults with disabilities from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). After adjusting covariates, disability levels among Chinese older adults with disabilities were significantly correlated with HCBS utilization in urban areas but not in rural areas. The urban–rural disparities may be due to the low utilization of HCBS in rural areas (only 11.2%) among older adults with disabilities compared with their urban counterparts (22.7%).