Global scientific research on social participation of older people from 2000 to 2019: A bibliometric analysis.
Jingjing Fu, Zixiao Jiang, Yan Hong and 4 others
PMID 32951349WHAT IT FOUND
Bibliometric analysis of 7,029 publications from 2000 to 2019 shows social participation research for older adults is growing, with the United States leading.
Recent hot spots include loneliness, frailty, and cognitive function, shifting focus from physical symptoms to psychosocial health.
Key findings
01The United States published the most reports on social participation of older people, accounting for 31.88% of the total, followed by Japan and the UK.
02Research frontiers have shifted towards psychosocial health, with loneliness, social participation, social support, instrumental activity, and frailty emerging as the most recent burst keywords since 2015.
03The study identified 103 countries contributing to this field, with the top 10 countries accounting for 83.62% of all publications, indicating uneven distribution of research power.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis relied solely on the Web of Science Core Collection, potentially missing relevant articles indexed in other databases. The search strategy excluded non-English and non-peer-reviewed materials, which may limit the global representation of the findings. As a bibliometric analysis, it describes publication trends and does not evaluate the quality or clinical efficacy of the included studies.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The study was funded by The National Social Science Fund of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this paper as evidence that social participation interventions improve health outcomes. This is a bibliometric analysis of publication trends, not a systematic review or meta-analysis of clinical trials, so it reports what researchers are studying, not what treatments work.