Table 1 Description of variables

Class of health care facilities visited

Measured in two types.

Firstly, =7 general hospital; =6 specialized hospital; =5 Chinese medicine hospital; =4 community healthcare center; =3 township hospital; =2 health care service station; =1 village clinic/private clinic.

Secondly, in the robustness check section, it would also be classified according to the three-tier health system. For outpatient service, =3 general hospital; =2 specialized hospital, Chinese medicine hospital; =1 community healthcare center, township hospital, health care service station, village clinic/private clinic.

Village clinic/Private clinic (first tier)

346

18.82

Health care service station (first tier)

40

2.18

Township hospital (first tier)

347

18.88

Community healthcare centers (first tier)

106

5.77

Chinese medicine hospital (second tier)

119

6.47

Specialized hospital (second tier)

88

4.79

General hospital (third tier)

792

43.09

Transport cost in health service seeking [ex-post, having paid]

Measured by the distance from home to the health care facility most recently visited (km). It reflects the transport cost that the respondent has already paid in the visit he/she most recently completed. In regressions, it is calculated in natural log (i.e., ln [1 + transport cost]).

< 5

1015

55.22

5-10

339

18.45

11-20

189

10.28

21-30

98

5.34

> 30

194

10.56

Disability

The number of types of following problems suffered (physical disabilities, brain damage/mental retardation, vision problem, hearing problem, speech impediment)

0

1581

86.02

1

201

10.94

2

43

2.34

3

11

0.60

4

2

0.11

Family support (face to face)

How often would you/your spouse see your child who is not living with you? (=10 almost every day, =9 if 2-3 times a week, =8 once a week, =7 every two weeks, =6 once a month, =5 once every three months, =4 once every six month, =3 once a year, =2 almost never, =1 others). The research team inquire about the situation of all children of the respondent. This variable is coded according to the mean value of his/her rating about all children.

[1, 8]

173

9.41

(8, 9]

356

19.37

(9, 10]

1309

71.21

Family support (online connection)

Coded similar as above, but the question is “How often would you/your spouse contact your child who is not living with you on phone/by message/on WeChat/by mail/by email?”

[1, 8]

85

4.62

(8, 9]

199

10.83

(9, 10]

1554

84.55

Age

The year of age.

< 55

667

36.29

55-65

641

34.87

66-75

398

21.66

> 75

132

7.17

Gender

=1 male, =2 female.

1. male

741

40.32

2. female

1097

59.68

Health insurance

=1 if the respondent has at least one of the following social health insurances: urban employee basic medical insurance (UEBMI), urban resident basic medical insurance (URBMI), new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS), urban and rural resident medical insurance (URRBMI).

No

77

4.19

Yes

1761

95.81

Financial status

The amount of cash a respondent has (in natural log)

< 3.00

303

16.49

3.00-7.00

929

50.54

7.00-10.00

578

31.45

10.00-13.00

28

1.52

Chronic conditions

The number of types of following chronic conditions suffered, including hypertension; dyslipidemia; diabetes or high blood sugar; cancer or malignant tumor; chronic lung diseases; liver disease; heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina, congestive heart failure, or other heart problem; stroke; kidney disease; stomach or other digestive disease; emotional, nervous, or psychiatric problems; memory-related disease; arthritis or rheumatism; asthma.

0

813

44.23

1

567

30.85

2

258

14.04

3

99

5.39

4

63

3.43

5

28

1.52

6

7

0.38

7

2

0.11

8

0

0.00

9

1

0.05

Self-rated health

Self-reported general health status. =1 very good, … =5 very poor.

1.Very good

99

5.39

2.Ggood

160

8.71

3. Fair

940

51.14

4.Poor

494

26.88

5.Very poor

145

7.89