Analysis of Research Trends and Hot Spots of Proactive Health Research for Elderly with Disabilities in China from the Perspective of Bibliometrics

Based on bibliometric methods, this study uses CiteSpace software for a visual analysis of the literature related toproactive health research for disabled elderly individuals, both domestically and internationally. The aim is to explore its development status and research hotspots. Literature onproactive health research for disabled elderly individuals, published from January 2014 to October 2024, was retrieved from databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Weipu, and Wanfang. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using NoteExpress V4.X, and visual mapping was performed using CiteSpace 6.2.R2 for interpretation. A total of 472 articles from Chinese databases were included. The overall publication volume showed an upward trend. High-frequency keywords in domestic research included disabled elderly, family caregivers, proactive health, social support, and long-term care. Ten clusters were identified, including terms such as disabled elderly, integrated medical and nursing care, and proactive health. Emergent keywords included mental health, stress relief, family caregivers, optimization of elderly care service models, and disabled elderly in rural areas. Research on the proactive health of disabled elderly individuals has been increasingly emphasized in China. Future studies should focus on emerging hotspots and trends, particularly on the psychological health of disabled elderly, the urban-rural disparities in the elderly disabled population, the optimization of service systems, and innovations in the full-cycle health management model.