ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1578827
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Outcomes: The Role of Social Security Systems in Improving Residents' Health WelfareView all 60 articles
Analysis of Distribution Equilibrium and Influencing Factors for Elderly Meal Service Facilities in Mainland China
Provisionally accepted
- School of Management, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
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Objective: Analyze the distribution equilibrium of Elderly Meal Service Facilities in mainland China and explore the factors influencing their distribution.Methods: Use Python to obtain data on Elderly Meal Service Facilities, and analyze the equity of elderly meal services using descriptive statistics, the Lorenz curve, the Gini coefficient, and the Spatial Mismatch Index (SMI). A multiple linear regression model was applied to explore the relationships between elderly meal services and factors such as population, economy, infrastructure, geography, and policies.The vast majority (85.26%) of elderly meal service facilities in mainland China are located at the community or village level, with the number of rural facilities significantly higher than that in urban areas. Most of these facilities are self-operated, and those with in-house kitchens dominate. The distribution of elderly meal services across mainland China was uneven, with a Gini coefficient of 0.418, indicating a substantial disparity in the allocation of service resources. The Spatial Mismatch Index (SMI) varied significantly among provinces, reflecting a considerable mismatch between the current supply of elderly meal service facilities and the actual demand of the elderly population. Analysis of influencing factors reveals that the number and coverage level of elderly meal service facilities were significantly negatively correlated with the size of the elderly population, the elderly dependency ratio, and GDP.The equity of elderly meal services still needs improvement. The planning and implementation of meal services should place greater emphasis on population demand to ensure that elderly individuals across the country can fairly access the elderly meal services they deserve. Future policy formulation should comprehensively consider factors such as demographic structure, economic development levels, and infrastructure conditions to optimize resource allocation, reduce regional disparities, and enhance service coverage and quality.
Keywords: elderly meal service, Distribution equilibrium, Spatial mismatch index, Gini Coefficient, Influencing factors
Received: 18 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhou, Lv and Song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaokang Song, School of Management, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
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