The effectiveness of community sports provision on social inclusion and public health in rural China

It is well known that increasing participation in physical activities is not only positive for individual health promotion, but also beneficial for community-level public health by enhancing the individual’s social well-being by facilitating social inclusion. Although the provision of community sports affects participation in physical activities, the magnitude and direction of this effect are still not clear. Under this circumstance, this paper examined the effects of community sports provision on social inclusion and public health using the micro-level data from a household survey conducted in eight provinces of rural China. For the purpose of this paper, the degree of social inclusion was proxied by participation in community sports, while public health was measured by the probability of getting ill for members of each household. The empirical results show that community sports provision was partially effective in promoting inclusion and health in rural areas. Specifically, constructing public sports facilities significantly increases participation in community sports and decreases the risk of getting ill. In contrast, organizing public sports activities increases the opportunity for households to play sports. Nonetheless, it does not promote public health. Equally important is that economic growth (reflected in the increase in income level) may enhance public health through advancing medical technologies and improving sanitary conditions instead of encouraging participation in community sports.