An analysis of the thematic evolution of ageing and healthcare expenditure using word embedding: a scoping review of policy implications

Thanks to the advances in public health and medical sciences, the increasing of elderly has become a structural phenomenon in Europe and the rest of the World. This demographic age shift highlighted severe doubts about the sustainability of healthcare systems which see adult people as a burden rather than, if they are healthy and active, as an advantage for a country's economic development. Safeguarding older people from infections is crucial, but supporting them during health emergencies is even more critical. Older adults, for example, became more at risk of death during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the balance previously achieved between age-related diseases and healthy quality of life went under higher pressure. As a result, the potential impact of ageing on healthcare expenditure is increasingly debated. Starting from this background, we propose a bibliometric study based on word embedding techniques to identify the drivers that could influence this relationship and track their evolution in the health policy debate. The main findings of our research underline that given the upward impact on the growth in health spending due to population ageing, policies oriented to improve their access to health services through new technologies could better meet the elderly needs, moderating the cost growth. Protecting the health of older adults represents, in fact, a challenge for governments as well as proof of the quality of health systems management, especially during severe outbreaks such as the one caused by the coronavirus.