Satisfaction with urban rural sports integration at the county level in China and its determinants

Objective Against the backdrop of continued expansion in the scale of county-level public sport service provision in China without commensurate improvement in residents' user experience, and with persistent disparities in perceived gains between urban and rural areas, this study treats satisfaction with urban–rural sports integration as the outcome variable. It assesses the level of satisfaction and examines the roles of digital linkage and village-level supply capacity in shaping satisfaction differences, while quantifying the contribution of village context. Methods A nationally stratified survey was conducted ( n = 3,595). Mean satisfaction scores were computed from an 18-item, 5-point Likert scale, followed by reliability testing and principal component extraction. After controlling for individual characteristics and sport participation, a random-intercept multilevel linear model (individuals nested within villages) was used to estimate determinants. Robustness checks included replacing the mean satisfaction score with the first principal component score, estimating an OLS model with cluster-robust standard errors as an alternative to multilevel modeling, and conducting sensitivity analyses using different strategies to handle uncertain responses on the digital linkage measure. Results The overall satisfaction score was 3.37 (moderately high), with the lowest ratings related to the fitness e-map. The scale showed high internal consistency (α = 0.9736), and the first principal component explained 69.09% of the total variance. Village-level heterogeneity was substantial (ICC = 0.2114). Digital linkage was positively associated with satisfaction (β = 0.1244, p < 0.001), though the effect attenuated after accounting for village capacity. The presence of social sports instructors significantly increased satisfaction (β = 0.1780, p < 0.001), whereas volunteer services were negatively associated with satisfaction (β = −0.3134, p < 0.001). A cross-domain leadership background was not statistically significant. Robustness checks yielded consistent directions. Conclusions Residents' perceived gains are driven primarily by village-level organization and human resource provision. Digital platforms cannot substitute for offline service delivery. County-level governance should shift from expanding provision to improving usability, prioritizing the development of social sports instructor teams and organizational operations, enhancing the quality and fit of volunteer services, and promoting routine updating and user-friendly design of the fitness e-map.