Bibliometric Analysis of Social Support for the Older Adults

This bibliometric analysis endeavors to bridge a gap in existing research on social support for the older adults, focusing on the theme of ageing. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of scholarly advancement of previous research papers in this domain, employing a bibliometric approach. A dataset inclusive of publications up to February 2024 from Scopus database has been compiled, capturing pertinent information on older adults’ social support. Employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the study offers a historical panorama of research trends. Through bibliometric techniques, significant articles, authors, journals, organizations, and countries contributing to this field are identified. The analysis unveils the current research status, elucidating key contributors, influential publications, and emerging thematic trajectories within ageing studies. Citation patterns and literature examination aid in identifying influential factors shaping the scholarly landscape. This research significantly enhances understanding of formal and informal social support for the older adults, filling existing research lacunae while spotlighting key contributors and burgeoning areas of interest. The findings of relevant studies based on PRISMA screening, a total of 152 research papers were screened. Seventeen papers were excluded because they did not specifically address social support for older adults. Three review papers and four others were removed due to being out of scope. Finally, 128 documents were retained for bibliometric analysis. The publication trend stands at 3.73%, indicating a significant increase in scholarly interest in social support for older adults.