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The role of formal volunteering in mental health promotion among older adults in China has been widely discussed during recent decades. However, the relationship connecting mental health with cross‐level interaction (i.e., average levels of participation in the community vs. individual participation) is still unclear. This paper examined the effects of cross‐level formal volunteering on depressive symptoms among older adults living in China. Using two waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, a sample of 3128 Chinese older adults was surveyed in 2014 and 2016. Depressive symptoms were measured using the abbreviated CES‐D‐9. Individual fixed‐effects ordinary least squares regression models assessed the associations between individual‐ and community‐level formal volunteering and depressive symptoms in urban and rural areas separately. We found that in the urban sample, formal volunteering activities were negatively associated with depressive symptoms at the individual level (β = −0.49, SE = 0.22, p < 0.05). Higher community‐level formal volunteering was positively associated with depressive symptoms (β = 2.82, SE = 1.42, p < 0.05). When adding interactions between individual and community levels, engagement in individual‐level formal volunteering was associated with lower rates of depressive symptoms as community volunteering participation levels increased (β = −3.07, SE = 1.07, p < 0.01). High community‐level volunteering participation was detrimental for non‐volunteers. In rural areas, neither community‐ nor individual‐level formal volunteering was associated with changes in depressive symptoms. The current findings demonstrate formal volunteering may not always benefit mental health for all. The effects may depend on the community context and individual choices. Social policies aimed to promote mental health through formal volunteering need to be tailored according to the specific community social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To examine the effectiveness of a patient-family (carer) partnership intervention on the BP control, self-care and self-efficacy for hypertensive people, and dyadic-relationship quality, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and health-related quality of life for the family dyads (hypertensive people and family carers) in rural communities of mainland China. Design. A randomised controlled trial. Methods. A total of 110 family dyads were randomly recruited from village clinics and randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 55) or control group (n = 55). Family dyads in the control group received usual care. In addition to the usual care, family dyads in the intervention group received the individual-based, five-session patient-family (carer) partnership intervention. The primary outcomes included SBP, DBP, and the proportion of people with normal controlled BP. EuroQol five-dimensional-five-level (EQ-5D-5L) was adopted to evaluate participants' health-related quality of life. Data were collected at the baseline (T0), one-month (T1), and three-month postintervention (T2). Generalised estimating equation model was adopted to test the study hypotheses on all study outcomes. Results. Compared with the control group, hypertensive people in the intervention group had a greater reduction in SBP by 10.10 mmHg and DBP by 4.66 mmHg and a larger proportion of people with normal BP at T2, as well as statistically significant improvements at T1 and T2 in dyadic relationship, self-care, antihypertensive drug-titration rate, anxiety symptoms, and health-related quality of life. The intervention also had statistically significant positive effects on family carer's dyadic relationship and health-related quality of life at T1 and T2. Conclusion. The patient-family (carer) partnership intervention has the potential to improve hypertensive people's BP control and family dyad's dyadic-relationship quality and mental health at short-to-medium term follow-ups. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care. This study provided evidence and direction to support healthcare providers in developing and implementing patient-family (carer) partnership intervention for hypertension care in rural areas. This trial is registered with ChiCTR1900027087. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the health effect of perceived built environment on depression of the Chinese elderly people in rural areas. A multifaceted approach in examining perceived built environment was used. A sample of 670 older residents in rural area of China were interviewed, and data were collected mainly for exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and moderation analysis. Results showed a reliable construct of perceived built environment which was developed by this study. A significant moderating role of personal income per month in the significantly negative relationship between perceived built environment and depression was confirmed. That is, the health effect of perceived built environment on depression became weakened among people of higher income levels. This study added evidence for the health effect of perceived built environment on depression among Chinese elderly people. Additionally, individual income was identified as an important influencing factor in such effect. Discussion on the negative relationship between perceived built environment and depression, as well as the moderating effect of personal income in such relationship were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to enrich the knowledge of the effects of traditional Chinese culture on bereavement outcomes among older Chinese, and to examine the moderating role of occupation in the relationship between traditional culture and bereavement outcomes. A sample of 352 older Chinese in widowhood was interviewed by quota sampling. A scale of faith in traditional Chinese culture was developed and confirmed by factor analysis. Complicated grief (CG) functioned as the outcome variable. Results showed that faith in traditional culture did affect CG among the sample, and previous occupation moderated the effect of traditional culture on CG. That is, the effect of faith in Chinese culture on CG is stronger in the non‐peasant group than the peasant group. The results broaden the knowledge of spousal bereavement in a Chinese context. Services such as death education and occupational therapy were recommended according to this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many communities provide older people with various opportunities to participate in the society. The 2010 Chinese census reveals that the majority of the older adults in China are still healthy, but research shows that older adults have relatively low levels of community participation. This study aims to determine the factors that affect the community participation of older adults in China using data collected from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( CHARLS). The CHARLS survey used a multistage sampling strategy to select respondents from 450 resident or village communities in China. A total of 17,000 persons from 10,000 families participated in the survey. The sample for this study includes 4283 individuals aged 60 years and above who have been invited to answer the survey based on their participation in entertainment and volunteer activities within the past month; 1009 were from urban areas and 3247 were from rural areas. Using logistic regression, this study identifies several variables that can predict the community participation of older adults. These variables included educational background, residence status, self-rated living standard and health status, number of available community facilities, expected social support, family care responsibility and involvement/non-involvement in old-age insurance schemes. In addition, an urban-rural difference was observed in the participation of these adults in entertainment activities, and the differences between older adults residing in urban and rural areas were insignificant in terms of their participation in volunteer work. These findings imply that the Chinese government should consider these predictors and the urban-rural differences when making policies regarding the community participation of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]