Understanding Elderly Well-Being in Public Nursing Homes:An ‎Empirical Study of China’s Basic Pension InsuranceSystem in Yunnan ‎Province

  • Authors

    • Piyun Luo International College National Institute of Development Administration
    https://doi.org/10.14419/9nv6e177

    Received date: January 20, 2026

    Accepted date: February 25, 2026

    Published date: February 28, 2026

  • Elderly Well-Being; Life Satisfaction; Subjective Well-Being Theory; Self-Determination Theory; ‎Ecosystem Theory; Public Nursing Homes; Elderly Care Policy; Yunnan Province

  • Abstract

    As the degree of population aging in China continues to deepen, public nursing homes have ‎become an important institutional care option for the elderly who rely on basic pension ‎insurance. Although material security is continuously improving, the subjective well-being of ‎the elderly in institutional environments still faces many challenges. This study integrates ‎Ecosystem Theory, Self-Determination Theory, and Subjective Well-being Theory to construct a ‎multi-level ecological–psychological model, aiming to systematically reveal the influencing ‎pathways and mechanisms of well-being among the elderly in public nursing homes.‎

    Through face-to-face questionnaire surveys conducted among the elderly in several public ‎nursing homes in Yunnan Province, with a valid sample of 400 participants, and using Partial ‎Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis, this study found that ‎‎(1) health status (path coefficient = 0.116, p < 0.001), physical environment (path coefficient = ‎‎0.314, p < 0.001), and urban–rural resident pension insurance (path coefficient = 0.282, p < ‎‎0.001) all exerted significant positive effects on life satisfaction (R² = 0.426); (2) social ‎participation (path coefficient = 0.262, p < 0.001) and relatedness (path coefficient = 0.240, p < ‎‎0.001) significantly and positively predicted emotional response (R² = 0.155); (3) traditional ‎family-based elder care beliefs had a significant negative impact on the well-being of the elderly ‎‎(path coefficient = -0.115, p < 0.001); (4) competence directly and positively enhanced elderly ‎well-being (path coefficient = 0.158, p < 0.001), while relatedness indirectly promoted ‎well-being through emotional response (indirect effect ≈ 0.083, p < 0.001); and (5) life ‎satisfaction (path coefficient = 0.431, p < 0.001) and emotional response (path coefficient = ‎‎0.345, p < 0.001) played key mediating roles between multiple antecedent variables and ‎well-being.‎

    This study not only theoretically expands the applicable framework for research on elderly ‎well-being in the context of institutional care but also provides empirical evidence and practical ‎insights for the operational optimization and service improvement of public nursing homes in ‎China. Particularly in economically underdeveloped regions, greater attention should be paid to ‎the synergistic fulfillment of environmental support, social integration, and psychological needs‎.

  • References

    1. Chang, H., Zhou, J., & Wang, Z. (2022). Multidimensional Factors Affecting Successful Aging among Empty-Nesters in China Based on Social-Ecological System Theory. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191911885.
    2. Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological bulletin, 95(3), 542. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542.
    3. Han, Y., Xing, F., Huang, J., & Wang, M. (2023). Associated factors of health-promoting lifestyle of the elderly based on the theory of social ecosys-tem. Aten Primaria, 55(9), 102679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2023.102679.
    4. Li, X., Li, C., & Huang, Y. (2022). Spatial-temporal analysis of urban-rural differences in the development of elderly care institutions in China. Fron-tiers in Public Health, 10, 1086388. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1086388.
    5. Liao, A., He, J., & Tao, X. (2025). The impact of individual and social environmental factors on the health of elderly migrants in China: an analysis based on social-ecological systems theory. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 2091. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23371-2.
    6. Liu, X., Ho, M. S., Hewings, G. J. D., Dou, Y., Wang, S., Wang, G., Guan, D., & Li, S. (2023). Aging Population, Balanced Diet and China's Grain Demand. Nutrients, 15(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15132877.
    7. Osterman, M. J. K., Hamilton, B. E., Martin, J. A., Driscoll, A. K., & Valenzuela, C. P. (2024). Births: Final Data for 2022. Natl Vital Stat Rep, 73(2), 1-56. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:145588.
    8. Pekalee, A., & Gray, R. S. (2023). In-home environment and happiness among older adults in Thailand. Front Public Health, 11, 1159350. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1159350.
    9. Shi, X., He, X., Pan, D., Qiao, H., & Li, J. (2022). Happiness, depression, physical activity and cognition among the middle and old-aged population in China: a conditional process analysis. PeerJ, 10, e13673. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13673.
    10. Vallerand, R. J., & O'Connor, B. P. (1989). Motivation in the elderly: A theoretical framework and some promising findings. Canadian Psycholo-gy/Psychologie canadienne, 30(3), 538. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0079828
    11. Wang, L., Zhou, Y., Fang, X., & Qu, G. (2022). Care burden on family caregivers of patients with dementia and affecting factors in China: A system-atic review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 1004552. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1004552.
    12. Zaini, N. H., Hasan, W. H. W., Samuel, R., Talib, A. N., Jamrus, F. N., & Ramly, F. A. (2022). Self Determination Theory Among Senior Citizen: A Review Paper. Jurnal'Ulwan, 7(1), 53-59.
    13. Zhang, L., Zhang, L., Jin, C., Tang, Z., Wu, J., & Zhang, L. (2024). Elderly-oriented improvement of mobile applications based on self-determination theory. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(5), 1071-1086. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2022.2131264.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Luo , P. . (2026). Understanding Elderly Well-Being in Public Nursing Homes:An ‎Empirical Study of China’s Basic Pension InsuranceSystem in Yunnan ‎Province. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 15(2), 38-45. https://doi.org/10.14419/9nv6e177