Thematic characteristics and research hot-spots of China’s healthy aging policy: topic modeling study

China faces unprecedented aging challenges, with its population aged 60 + projected to exceed 310 million by 2024. To address this, China integrated “healthy aging” into national strategies like the Healthy China 2030 initiative. However, a systematic analysis of policy themes and research hot-spots was lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by examining China’s healthy aging policies and academic focus areas from 2016 to 2025. To identify core thematic characteristics of China’s healthy aging policies and research hot-spots using topic modeling and content analysis, revealing national priorities and informing global aging governance. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to analyze China’s healthy aging policies and research trends. First, 14 national policy documents (2016–2025) were collected from official Chinese government portals, while 101 research papers were systematically retrieved and screened from four major Chinese academic databases. Policy texts underwent latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling using Python 3.11.8: after custom dictionary optimization and TF-IDF-weighted (term frequency-inverse document frequency) stop-word filtering, grid search identified the optimal topic count (K = 4) via perplexity-coherence metrics, followed by 50 iterations for model convergence. Simultaneously, research papers were analyzed through content analysis on the DiVoMiner® platform, using a predefined coding framework (4 primary themes, 15 sub-dimensions). Coding reliability was ensured via Holsti’s coefficient (0.93) derived from dual human-AI coder consensus. The LDA model revealed four core policy themes: Topic 0 (Comprehensive Health Service System and Elderly Health Monitoring, 11.4% strength), Topic 1 (Whole-Life-Cycle Health Management and Chronic Disease Prevention, 25.7%), Topic 2 (Development of Age-Friendly Industries and Public Services in Urban-Rural Contexts, 46.3%, highest strength), and Topic 3 (Innovative Models for Integrated Medical and Elderly Care and Elderly Health Services, 16.6%). Temporal analysis showed policy evolution from single-topic dominance (2016: Topic 0 at 99.9%) to multi-topic integration. Content analysis of research papers identified divergent hot spots: “Health Promotion Strategies” (102 occurrences, 33.3% focused on community support) and “Policy Support” (83 occurrences, 74.7% national-level) dominated the literature, whereas “Health Management Technologies” were significantly underrepresented (15 occurrences, 66.7% categorized as “other” uncategorized tech). Critical gaps included minimal focus on family support (1.2%) and underutilized technologies. China’s healthy aging framework combines strategic governance, cultural resources, and socioeconomic integration. Strengths include tiered interventions for diverse needs and urban-rural synergy, though rural health equity and technology adoption require optimization. Future research should prioritize longitudinal policy evaluations, cross-nation comparisons, especially with developing economies, and participatory elderly-centered designs. China’s model offers a cost-effective paradigm for global aging societies.