Evaluation of China’s medical and older adult care integration policy based on the PMC model
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective: Many countries are experiencing above-average levels of aging, and older adults have higher demands on healthcare and older adult care systems. It is important for governments to improve policies to enhance the quality of healthcare and older adult care systems. However, research on policies combining healthcare and older adult care remains limited. This study evaluates healthcare and older adult care policies, particularly the medical and older adult care integration policy, to provide a reference for policy interventions that can achieve sustainable development. Methods: This study introduced a policy maturity and consistency (PMC) index model based on text mining technology to analyze 28 representative medical and older adult care integration policy documents. The analysis model identifies policy deficiencies and provides actionable insights for improving future policy frameworks. Results: The PMC indices of the 28 policies ranged from 7.67 to 4.40, with 22 policies rated as 'good' and 6 as 'acceptable.' The policy texts demonstrated strong standardization and scientific rigor in terms of content expression and technical structure. However, regarding specific performance, 16 policies scored above the average, while 12 scored below the average. Analysis of the PMC surface plots for the 28 policies reveals that the overall three-dimensional surface exhibits a noticeable concave feature, indicating that the implementation potential and effectiveness of nearly half of the policies still have significant room for improvement. Conclusion: Through the analysis of China's medical and older adult care integration policy texts using the PMC model, it was concluded that China's medical and older adult care integration policies have a high degree of systematicity and consistency. The following recommendations are proposed: improve the policy system to enhance policy coverage and inclusiveness; optimize the combination of policy tools to enhance policy implementation flexibility; and improve the diversified security mechanism to enhance the systematic support and precise supply capabilities of medical and older adult care integration services.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Authors: Yahui Ba, Zhonghua Luo
Institution: Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W4413816956