Table 1 Classification of reviewed... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Classification of reviewed literature on active aging in rural China (Scopus search results, 2014–2025)

Category	Representative articles	Main focus
① Health-centric studies	Chen and Zheng (2025), Liu et al. (2022a, b), Huang et al. (2025a, b), Fu et al. (2021), Huang et al. (2025a, b), Kumar et al. (2016)	Focused on biomedical or physical health indicators (frailty, sarcopenia, cognitive function, disability, morbidity)
② Urban-biased or mixed-sample studies	Chen et al. (2021a, b), Lin and Xu (2025), Wang and Zhao (2024), Feng et al. (2015), Huang et al. (2025a, b)	Used mixed or peri-urban samples, some drew from national surveys without rural disaggregation
③ Thematic non-index studies	Liu (2014a, b), Yang and Du (2021), Qu et al. (2023), Meng et al. (2025)	Addressed social, cultural and familial aspects of aging (e.g. migration, gender, leisure, or education)
④ Governance or institutional models	Dai et al. (2025), Luo et al. (2025), Dou et al. (2025), Feng et al. (2020), Tang et al. (2020)	Investigated community services, canteen programs, mutual aid, or administrative mechanisms
⑤ Potentially index-based or multi-dimensional frameworks	Guo et al. (2024), Sia et al. (2021), Chen et al. (2021a, b), Liang et al. (2025)	Incorporated multiple domains (health, participation, satisfaction) but without unified AAI-based scoring or rural specificity
⑥ Other thematic or spatial studies	Qiu et al. (2024), Chen and Zheng (2025), Li et al. (2018a, b)	Emphasized environment, housing, or spatial inequality

Category	Representative articles	Main focus
① Health-centric studies	Chen and Zheng (2025), Liu et al. (2022a, b), Huang et al. (2025a, b), Fu et al. (2021), Huang et al. (2025a, b), Kumar et al. (2016)	Focused on biomedical or physical health indicators (frailty, sarcopenia, cognitive function, disability, morbidity)
② Urban-biased or mixed-sample studies	Chen et al. (2021a, b), Lin and Xu (2025), Wang and Zhao (2024), Feng et al. (2015), Huang et al. (2025a, b)	Used mixed or peri-urban samples, some drew from national surveys without rural disaggregation
③ Thematic non-index studies	Liu (2014a, b), Yang and Du (2021), Qu et al. (2023), Meng et al. (2025)	Addressed social, cultural and familial aspects of aging (e.g. migration, gender, leisure, or education)
④ Governance or institutional models	Dai et al. (2025), Luo et al. (2025), Dou et al. (2025), Feng et al. (2020), Tang et al. (2020)	Investigated community services, canteen programs, mutual aid, or administrative mechanisms
⑤ Potentially index-based or multi-dimensional frameworks	Guo et al. (2024), Sia et al. (2021), Chen et al. (2021a, b), Liang et al. (2025)	Incorporated multiple domains (health, participation, satisfaction) but without unified AAI-based scoring or rural specificity
⑥ Other thematic or spatial studies	Qiu et al. (2024), Chen and Zheng (2025), Li et al. (2018a, b)	Emphasized environment, housing, or spatial inequality