Issues of Ensuring Food Security among the Elderly Population: A Scientometric Review of Publications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47703/ejebs.v69i4.573Keywords:
Food Security, Elderly Population, Ageing Economics, Economic Vulnerability, Scientometric Analysis, Social Inequality, Evidence MappingAbstract
Food security among the elderly population is a pressing issue with multifaceted implications for health and well-being. The study aims to systematically map the global research landscape on food security among the elderly population and identify dominant thematic clusters, influential publications, and structural research gaps. A scientometric methodology was applied, combining descriptive statistics and network analysis using Scopus data for 1996-2024. Descriptive statistics and network analysis methods were employed using VOS viewer software for data processing and visualization. Descriptive statistics revealed a sharp acceleration in research output after 2011, with publication dynamics well captured by a 4th-degree polynomial model (R² = 0.9288). The research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning agricultural and biological sciences, medicine, and social Sciences. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom lead in publication output, while the Chinese Academy of Sciences (55 publications) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92 funded studies) are the key institutional and financial contributors. The analysis confirms the field's complexity and interdisciplinary nature and reveals critical gaps, particularly the lack of longitudinal and qualitative studies. A critical structural gap was identified between biological research and socio-policy studies, indicating limited integration across disciplinary boundaries. The systematized knowledge and identified research structure serve as a robust basis for policymakers and researchers to develop targeted interventions and define new, high-priority research directions.
Downloads
References
Alhammadi, K.S., Santos-Roldán, L., & Cabeza-Ramírez, L.J. (2021). A Theoretical Framework on the Determinants of Food Purchasing Behavior of the Elderly: A Scientometric Review with Scientific Mapping in Web of Science. Foods, 10 (3), 688. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030688
Burholt, V. & Dobbs, C. (2012) Research on Rural Ageing: Where Have We Got to and Where Are We Going in Europe? Journal of Rural Studies, 28, 432-446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2012.01.009
Cook, J. T., & Jeng, K. (2009). Child food insecurity: The economic impact on our nation: A report on research on the impact of food insecurity and hunger on child health, growth and development. Feeding America. Retrieved July 22, 2025, from https://www.nokidhungry.org/sites/default/files/child-economy-study.pdf
Franklin, B.E., Jones, A.M., Love, D., Puckett, S., Macklin, J., & White-Means, S.I. (2012). Exploring Mediators of Food Insecurity and Obesity: A Review of Recent Literature. Journal of Community Health, 37(1), 253-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9420-4
Freiria, C.N., Arikawa, A.Y., Van Horn, L.T., Corona, L.P., & Wright, L. (2022). Food insecurity among older adults living in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review. The Gerontologist, 64(1), 161. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac161
Hall, B.M. (2005). Food Security Among Older Adults in the United States. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, 20(4), 329–338. https://doi.org/10.1097/00008486-200510000-00006
Jones, J., Duffy, M.E., Coull, Y., & Wilkinson, H.W. (2009). Older people living in the community - nutritional needs, barriers and interventions: a Literature Review. Queen Margaret University. https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/20.500.12289/1266/1266.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1
Kansanga, M.M., Sano, Y., Bayor, I., Braimah, J.A., Nunbogu, A.M., &Luginaah, I. (2022). Determinants of food insecurity among elderly people: findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Ageing and Society, 42(9), 2067-2081. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X20002081
Leroux, J., Cox, J., & Rosenberg, M.W. (2020). Food Insecurity and Aging: A Scoping Study of the Literature. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 39(4), 662 - 696. https://doi.org/10.1017/S071498081900059X
Macias-Chapula, C. A. (1998). O papel da informetria e da cienciometria e sua perspectiva nacional e internacional. Ciência da informação, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-19651998000200005
Mavegam Tango Assoumou, B.O., Coughenour, C., Godbole, A., & McDonough, I.K. (2022). Senior food insecurity in the USA: a systematic literature review. Public Health Nutrition, 26, 229 - 245. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022002415
Mills, C.M. (2021). Food Insecurity in Older Adults in Canada and the United States: A Concept Analysis. Canadian journal of dietetic practice and research: a publication of Dietitians of Canada = Revue canadienne de la pratique et de la recherche en dietetique: une publication des Dietetistes du Canada, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2021-016
Njeri, A. (2021). Socio-economic factors affecting food security among the elderly. A critical literature review. Journal of Food Sciences, 2(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.47941/jfs.625
Shahrin, F.I., Omar, N., Daud, Z.A., & Zakaria, N.F. (2019). Factors associated with food choices among elderly: a scoping review. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 25(2), 185-198. https://doi.org/10.31246/mjn-2018-0133
Singh, V. K., Singh, P., Karmakar, M., Leta, J., & Mayr, P. (2021). The Journal Coverage of Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions: A Comparative Analysis. Scientometrics, 126, 5113-5142.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-03948-5
Raan, A. F. (1997). Scientometrics: State-of-the-art. Scientometrics, 38(1), 205-218. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02461131
Vilar-Compte, M., Gaitán-Rossi, P., & Pérez‐Escamilla, R. (2017). Food insecurity measurement among older adults: Implications for policy and food security governance. Global Food Security, 14, 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.GFS.2017.05.003
Wang, D., Everett, B., Northall, T., Villarosa, A.R., & Salamonson, Y. (2017). Access to food choices by older people in residential aged care: An integrative review. Collegian, 25, 457-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLEGN.2017.11.004
Wolfe, W.S., Olson, C.M., Kendall, A., & Frongillo, E.A. (1996). Understanding Food Insecurity in the Elderly: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Nutrition Education, 28, 92-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(96)70034-1
Zarei, M., Qorbani, M., Djalalinia, S., Sulaiman, N., Subashini, T., Appanah, G., & Naderali, E.K. (2021). Food Insecurity and Dietary Intake Among Elderly Population: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12(1),8. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_61_19
How to Cite
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
