Nationally funded health management projects for older adults in China and the United States: Comparative analysis based on data from two principal institutions

OBJECTIVES: To systematically summarize and compare the health management projects on the aged population funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in China. METHODS: All elderly-related projects from 2007 to 2022 were retrieved by searching the project titles, abstracts, and keywords such as “older adults,” “elderly,” “aged,” “health management,” and so on. Python, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer were used to extract, integrate, and visualize the relevant information. RESULTS: A total of 499 NSFC projects and 242 NIH projects were retrieved. For both countries, prestigious universities and institutions received the most funded projects; the projects that got the most funds were longitudinal studies. Both countries attach great importance to investment in the health management of the aged population. However, different focuses existed in health management projects for older adults in the two countries due to distinct national conditions and development levels. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis results of this study can provide a reference for other countries with similar challenges of population aging. Effective measures should be taken to promote the transformation and implementation practice of the project achievements. Nurses can benefit from these projects and facilitate the translation of relevant research findings into clinical practice to improve nursing quality for older adults.