Health Economics and Ageing Populations: Financial Strategies for Sustainable Elderly Care

This narrative review examines financial strategies for sustainable elderly care in response to rising global ageing populations. Using a meta-narrative approach, we conducted an iterative search across PubMed, JSTOR, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, focusing on studies from 2000 to 2025. Inclusion criteria centred on articles addressing elderly care financing, health economics, and country-specific policies; grey literature, including government reports and policy briefs, was incorporated to capture real-world applications. Exclusion criteria filtered out clinical studies unrelated to financial strategies. The literature was synthesized into key themes: public and private financing models, cost-sharing and insurance schemes, preventive care, and healthcare innovations. Public funding models (e.g., Japan’s Long-Term Care Insurance) support equitable access but face sustainability challenges. Hybrid models, like Germany’s long-term care insurance, combine public support and private contributions to balance funding but may require adjustments for low-income inclusivity. Findings, evaluated through tools like AMSTAR 2 and ROBINS-I to ensure methodological rigour, highlight the importance of adaptable financial models emphasizing preventive care and technological innovations, such as telemedicine, to reduce costs and enhance accessibility. Future research should prioritize cross-country studies to evaluate long-term financial outcomes and guide policy adaptations for sustainable elderly care.