The impact of community elderly care services on the quality of life of the elderly in China: the mediating role of social adaptation

Background: With the deepening trend of aging in China, community elderly care services occupy an important position in China's elderly care system. This paper aims to explore the impact of different types of community elderly care services on the quality of life of older adults and to analyze its underlying influencing mechanism.The research data are obtained from the 2020 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey data. The Structural Equation Model is used to examine the relationship between of three types of community elderly care services on older adults'quality of life.(1) Three types of community elderly care services are positively associated with quality of life of older adults. Compared to basic elderly care services, extended elderly care services have a more significant impact on older people's quality of life. (2) It is found that the impacts of three types of community elderly care services on the quality of life of elderly people are heterogeneous in terms of age, registered residence, and disablement status. (3) Social adaptation mediated the relationship between three types of community elderly care services and older adults' quality of life.The results of this study show that three types of community elderly care services could improve the quality of life of older adults, and social adaptation plays a mediating role between three types of community elderly care services and quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the supply of community elderly care services, especially extended elderly care services. By accurately identifying the needs of the elderly and optimizing service supply, giving the elderly more useful services, improving their attitudes towards society and helping them better adapt to society, thereby improving the quality of life of older adults . This study provides a basis for optimizing community elderly care services and improving the quality of life of the elderly, and emphasizes the key role of social adaptation, which has important practical guiding significance for promoting the sustainable development of the elderly care service system