Association Between Ethnicity and Health Knowledge Among the Floating Population in China

Background: Health equity remains a priority concerns by central government in China. This study aimed to explore ethnic gaps in access to health knowledge categories and sources based on the survey data from a publicly available dataset.

Methods: Data were from 2015 China Migrants Dynamic Survey issued by The National Health Commission in China. Descriptive analyses were performed to reflect geodemographic differences in the floating population of ethnic minority (EMFP) and Han majority (HMFP) with Chi-square test. Ethnic gaps in access to health knowledge categories and sources were explored with Poisson regressions, logistic regressions, and bivariate ordered probit regressions.

Results: In the sample, most of participants had inadequate health information literacy. There were significant differences regarding geodemographic factors between EMFP and HMFP. Illiterate EMFP had likelihood to obtain less health knowledge categories (IRR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.77-0.84) and sources (IRR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.80-0.86) as compared to illiterate HMFP. Most of correlations between health knowledge categories and sources were weak in the samples of EMFP and HMFP.

Conclusion: Ethnic disparities in access to health knowledge categories and sources among the floating population in China were confirmed. Further effective efforts should be provided to reduce ethnic disparities in access to health knowledge under the ethnicity-orientated support of public health resource.